•  ■«;■:.;-: 


CRAFTSMAN  HOMES 
BYGUSTAVSTICKLEY 


THE  CRAFTSMAN  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
41  WEST  34  th  STREET  NEW  YORK  CITY 


Copyright,  1909,  by 
Gustav  Sticklet 


/f?Veat  nat*on!E{  tor'tE  ^v  autobiograpbp  in 
kP  tfjree  manuscripts :  tfje  book  of  tfjeir  toorbs, 
tf)e  book  of  tfjcir  beebs  anb  tlic  book  of 
tfjeir  art.  Jlot  one  of  tbese  books  can  be  unber= 
Stoob  unless  toe  reab  tfje  otfjer  ttoo,  but  of  tfje 
tfjree,  tfje  onlp  one  quite  trusttoortbp  is  tfje  last. 
Gtfje  acts  of  a  nation  map  be  triumpbant  bp  its 
goob  fortune,  anb  its  toorbs  migbtp  by  tfje 
genius  of  a  feto  of  its  cbilbren,  but  its  art  can 
be  supreme  onlp  bp  tfje  general  gifts  anb  com- 
mon  spmpatbies  of  tfje  race." 

BTobn  ftusfein. 


2065877 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


PAGE 


"The  Simplification  of  Life:"' By  Edward  Carpenter 1 

"The  Art  of  Building  a  Home:"  By  Barry  Parker  and  Raymond  Unwin 6 

A  California  House  Founded  on  the  California  Mission  Style 9 

An  Old-Fashioned  House  with  the  Dining  Room  and  Kitchen  in  One 12 

A  Small  Cottage  that  Is  Comfortable,  Attractive  and  Inexpensive 15 

A  Plain  House  that  Will  Last  for  Generations  and  Need  but  Few  Repairs 16 

A  Cottage  of  Cement  or  Stone  that  Is  Conveniently  Arranged  for  a  Small  Family   .     .     .      .  19 

Suburban  House  Designed  for  a  Lot  Having  Wide  Frontage  but  Little  Depth 20 

A  Very  Simple  and  Inexpensive  Cottage  Built  of  Battened  Boards S3 

A  Cement  House  that  Shows  the  Decorative  Use  of  Concrete  as  a  Framework   ....  24 

Cement  House  Showing  Lavish  Use  of  Half-Timber  as  a  Decoration 28 

Cement  House  Showing  Craftsman  Idea  of  Half-Timber  Construction 30 

A  Comfortable  and  Convenient  House  for  the  Suburbs  or  the  Country 32 

A  Craftsman  City  House  Designed  to  Accommodate  Two  Families 36 

A  Craftsman  Farmhouse  that  Is  Comfortable,  Homelike  and  Beautiful 38 

House  with  Court,  Pergolas,  Outdoor  Living  Rooms  and  Sleeping  Balconies 42 

The  Craftsman's  House:  A  Practical  Application  of  Our  Theories  of  Home  Building     .     .  45 

A  Small  Shingled  House  that  Shows  Many  Interesting  Structural  Features 50 

A  Roomy,  Inviting  Farmhouse,  Designed  for  Pleasant  Home  Life  in  the  Country    ...  52 

A  Simple,  Straightforward  Design  from  which  Many  Homes  Have  Been  Built       ....  54 

A  Craftsman  House  in  which  Tower  Construction  Has  Been  Effectively  Used       ....  56 

A  Concrete  Cottage  Designed  in  the  Form  of  a  Greek  Cross  to  Admit  More  Light   ...  60 

A  Bungalow  of  Irregular  Form  and  Unusually  Interesting  Construction 62 

A  Roomy,  Homelike  Farmhouse  for  Lovers  of  Plain  and  Wholesome  Country  Life   ...  66 

A  Plaster  House  upon  which  Wood  Has  Been  Liberally  Used 68 

A  Farmhouse  Designed  w7ith  a  Long,  Unbroken  Roof  Line  at  the  Back 7U 

Two  Inexpensive  but  Charming  Cottages  for  Women  Who  Want  Their  Own  Homes      .      .  72 

A  Log  House  that  Will  Serve  either  as  a  Summer  Camp  or  a  Country  Home 74 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS-Ccm//™*/ 

PAGE 

A  Pleasant  and  Homelike  Cottage  Designed  for  a  Small   Family 76 

A  Country  Clubhouse  that  Is  Built  like  a  Log  Cabin          79 

A  Plain  Little  Cabin  that  Would  Make  a  Good  Summer  Home  in  the  Woods        ....  81 

A  Bungalow  Built  around  a  Courtyard  Facing  the  Water 83 

A  Rustic  Cabin  that  Is  Meant  for  a  Week-end  Cottage  or  a  Vacation  Home 85 

A  Bungalow  Designed  for  a  Mountain  Camp  or  Summer  Home         80 

A  Convenient  Bungalow  with  Separate  Kitchen  and  Open  Air  Dining  Room 88 

A  Cottage  Planned  with  a  Special  Idea  to  Economical  Heating 92 

A  Cottage  that  Comes  within  the  Limits  of  Very  Moderate  Means 93 

A  Country  House  that  Was  Originally  Planned  for  a  Mountain  Camp 95 

Porches,  Pergolas  and  Terraces:  The  Charm  of  Living  Out  of  Doors 97 

The  Effective  Use  of  Cobblestones  as  a  Link  between  House  and  Landscape 10-2 

Beautiful  Garden  Gates:  The  Charm  that  Is  Always  Found  in  an  Interesting  Approach  to  an 

Enclosure 109 

The  Natural  Garden:  Some  Things  that  Can  Be  Done  when  Nature  Is  Followed  instead  of 

Thwarted 113 

What  May  Be  Done  with  Water  and  Rocks  in  a  Little  Garden        119 

Halls  and  Stairways:  Their  Importance  in  the  General  Scheme  of  a  Craftsman  House  .      .125 

The  Living  Room:  Its  Many  Uses  and  the  Possibilities  It  Has  for  Comfort  and  Beauty  .     .  129 

The  Dining  Room  as  a  Center  of  Hospitality  and  Good  Cheer 137 

A  Convenient  and  Well-Equipped  Kitchen  that  Simplifies  the  Housework 142 

The  Treatment  of  Wall  Spaces  so  that  a  Room  Is  in  Itself  Complete  and  Satisfying   .     .      .  144 

Floors  that  Complete  the  Decorative  Scheme  of  a  Room 149 

An  Outline  of  Furniture-Making  in  this  Country  Showing  the  Place  of  Craftsman  Furniture 

in  the  Evolution  of  an  American  Style 151 

Willow  Chairs  and  Settles  which  Harmonize  with  the  More  Severe  and  Massive  Furniture 

Made  of  Oak 160 

Craftsman  Metal  Work:  Designed  and  Made  According  to  the  Same  Principles  that  Rule  the 

Furniture 162 

The  Kind  of  Fabrics  and  Needlework  that  Harmonize  with  and  Complete  the  Craftsman 

Decorative  Scheme 165 

Home  Training  in  Cabinet  Work 169 

Our  Native  Woods  and  Their  Treatment 185 

The  Craftsman  Idea          194 


taut)'  boes  not  consist  so  mud)  in  ttje 
tlmigs  rcprrscntcb,  as  in  tl)c  need  one 
bas  fjab  of  expressing  tbent;  anb  tf)is 
neeb  it  is  tutjictj  creates  ttje  begree  of  force  tottn 
toijicfj  one  acquits  oneself  of  tf)e  toorfe.  0nt 
map  sap  tfjat  eberptbing  is  beautiful  probibeb 
ttie  tbtng  turns  up  in  its  oton  proper  time  anb 
in  its  oton  place ;  anb  contrariwise  tliat  nothing 
can  be  beautiful  arriving  inappropriately." 

Jean  Jfrancois  iHillet. 


THE  SIMPLIFICATION  OF  LIFE:"  A  CHAPTER  FROM 
EDWARD  CARPENTER'S  BOOK  CALLED  "ENGLAND'S 
IDEAL'' 

HEN  we  remember  the  sincere  reformers  of  the  world,  do  we  not 
always  recall  most  gladly  the  simple  men  amongst  them,  Savon- 
arola rather  than  Tolstoi,  Gorky  rather  than  Goethe,  and  would 
it  not  be  difficult  to  associate  this  memory  of  individual  effort 
for  public  good  with  consciously  elegant  surroundings.  Could 
we,  for  instance,  picture  Savonarola  with  a  life  handicapped,  per- 
haps, by  eager  pursuit  of  sartorial  eccentricities,  with  a  bias  for 
elaborate  cuisine  and  insistence  upon  unearned  opulence,  or  the  earning  of  luxury 
atfthe  sacrifice  of  other's  lives  or  happiness  ?  It  does  not  somehow  fit  into  the 
frame.  In  remembering  those  who  have  dedicated  their  lives  to  the  benefit 
of  their  own  lands,  we  inevitably  picture  them  as  men  of  simple  ways,  who  have 
asked  little  and  given  much,  who  have  freed  their  shoulders  from  the  burdens 
of  luxury,  who  have  stripped  off  from  their  lives  the  tight  inflexible  bandages 
of  unnecessary  formalities,  and  who  have  thus  been  left  free  for  those  great  essen- 
tials of  honest  existence,  for  courage,  for  unselfishness,  for  heroic  purpose  and, 
above  all,  for  the  clear  vision  which  means  the  acceptance  of  that  final  good, 
honesty  of  purpose,  without  which  there  can  be  no  real  meaning  in  life. 

Such  right  living  and  clear  thinking  cannot  find  abiding  place  except  among 
those  whose  lives  bring  them  back  close  to  Nature's  ways,  those  who  are  content 
to  be  clad  simply  and  comfortably,  to  accept  from  life  only  just  compensation 
for  useful  toil,  who  prefer  to  live  much  in  the  open,  finding  in  the  opportunity 
for  labor  the  right  to  live;  those  who  desire  to  rest  from  toil  in  homes  built  to 
meet  their  individual  need  of  rest  and  peace  and  joy,  homes  which  realize  a  per- 
sonal standard  of  comfort  and  beauty;  those  who  demand  honesty  in  all  expres- 
sion from  all  friends,  and  who  give  in  return  sincerity  and  unselfishness,  those 
who  are  fearless  of  sorrow,  yet  demand  joy;  those  who  rank  work  and  rest  as 
equal  means  of  progress — in  such  lives  only  may  we  find  the  true  regeneration 
for  any  nation,  for  only  in  such  simplicity  and  sincerity  can  a  nation  develop 
a  condition  of  permanent  and  properly  equalized  welfare. 

By  simplicity  here  is  not  meant  any  foolish  whimsical  eccentricity  of  dress 
or  manner  or  architecture,  colonized  and  made  conspicuous  by  useless  wealth, 
for  eccentricity  is  but  an  expression  of  individual  egotism  and  as  such  must  in- 
evitably be  short-lived.  And  what  our  formal,  artificial  world  of  today  needs 
is  not  more  of  this  sort  of  eccentricity  and  egotism,  but  less;  not  more  conscious 
posing  for  picturesque  reform,  but  greater  and  quieter  achievement  along  lines 
of  fearless  honesty;  not  less  beauty,  but  infinitely  more  of  a  beauty  that  is  real 
and  lasting  because  it  is  born  out  of  use  and  taste. 

From  generation  to  generation  every  nation  has  the  privilege  of  nourishing 
men  and  women  (but  a  few)  who  think  and  live  thus  sincerely  and  beautifully, 
and  who  so  far  as  possible  strive  to  impress  upon  their  own  generation  the  need 
of  such  sincerity  and  beauty  in  daily  life.  One  of  the  rarest  and  most  honest 
of  these  sincere  personalities  in  modern  life  is  Edward  Carpenter,  an  English- 
man who,  though  born  to  wealth  and  station,  has  stripped  his  life  of  superfluous 
social  paraphernalia  and  stepped  out  of  the  clumsy  burden  of  tradition,  up  (not 


THE  SIMPLIFICATION   OF  LIFE 

down)  to  the  life  of  the  simple,  common  people,  earning  his  living  and  that  of  his 
family  as  a  cobbler  (and  a  good  one,  too)  and  living  in  a  peaceful  fashion  in  a 
home  planned  and  largely  constructed  by  himself.  His  life  and  his  work  are 
with  the  people.  He  knows  their  point  of  view,  he  writes  for  them,  lectures  for 
them,  and  though  a  leader  in  modern  thought  in  England  and  a  man  of  genius, 
he  is  one  with  his  daily  associates  in  purpose  and  general  scheme  of  existence. 
In  all  his  present  writings  the  common  man  and  his  relation  to  civilization,  is 
Mr.  Carpenter's  theme,  and  he  deals  with  the  great  problems  of  sociology  in  plain 
practical  terms  and  with  a  straightforward  thought  born  of  that  surest  knowledge 
possible,  experience. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  endeavor  of  The  Craftsman  to  aid  in  the  in- 
terests of  better  art,  better  work  and  a  better  and  more  reasonable  way  of 
living,  the  work  of  Edward  Carpenter  has  been  an  inspiration  and  an  ideal,  born 
out  of  that  sympathy  of  purpose  which  makes  men  of  whatever  nation  brothers 
and  comrades.  We  have  from  time  to  time  in  the  magazine  quoted  from  Mr. 
Carpenter's  books  at  length,  feeling  that  he  was  expressing  our  own  ideal  as  no 
words  of  ours  could,  and  particularly  have  we  felt  a  oneness  of  purpose  with  him 
in  his  book  called  "England's  Ideal,"  in  which  he  publishes  a  chapter  on  the 
"  Simplification  of  Life,"  which  with  its  honesty,  sincerity,  its  high  courage  and 
rare  judgment  should  make  clear  the  pathway  for  all  of  those  among  us  who 
are  honestly  interested  in  readjusting  life  on  a  plane  of  greater  usefulness  and 
higher  beauty.  In  this  essay  which  we  purpose  here  to  quote  at  length,  Mr. 
Carpenter  begins  by  speaking  of  his  own  method  of  readjusting  his  life  as  follows : 

"XF  YOU  do  not  want  to  be  a  vampire  and  a  parasite  upon  others,  the  great 
question  of  practical  life  which  everyone  has  to  face,  is  how  to  carry  it  on 
■*■  with  as  little  labor  and  effort  as  may  be.  No  one  wants  to  labor  needlessly, 
and  if  you  have  to  earn  everything  you  spend,  economy  becomes  a  very  personal 
question — not  necessarily  in  the  pinching  sense,  but  merely  as  adaptation  of 
means  to  the  end.  When  I  came  some  years  ago  to  live  with  cottagers  (earning 
say  £50  to  £60  a  year)  and  share  their  life,  I  was  surprised  to  find  how  little 
both  in  labor  and  expense  their  food  cost  them,  who  were  doing  far  more  work 
than  I  was,  or  indeed  the  generality  of  the  people  among  whom  I  had  been  living. 
This  led  me  to  see  that  the  somewhat  luxurious  mode  of  living  I  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  was  a  mere  waste,  as  far  as  adaptation  to  any  useful  end  was  concerned ; 
and  afterward  I  had  decided  that  it  had  been  a  positive  hindrance,  for  when  I 
became  habituated  to  a  more  simple  life  and  diet,  I  found  that  a  marked  im- 
provement took  place  in  my  powers  both  of  mind  and  body. 

"The  difference  arising  from  having  a  small  piece  of  garden  is  very  great, 
and  makes  one  feel  how  important  it  is  that  every  cottage  should  have  a  plot  of 
ground  attached.  A  rood  of  land  (quarter  acre)  is  sufficient  to  grow  all  potatoes 
and  other  vegetables  and  some  fruit  for  the  year's  use,  say  for  a  family  of  five. 
Half  an  acre  would  be  an  ample  allowance.  Such  a  piece  of  land  may  easily 
be  cultivated  by  anyone  in  the  odd  hours  of  regular  work,  and  the  saving  is  natur- 
ally large  from  not  having  to  go  to  the  shop  for  everything  of  this  nature  that  is 
needed. 

"Of  course,  the  current  mode  of  fife  is  so  greatly  wasteful,  and  we  have  come 


THE   SIMPLIFICATION   OF   LIFE 

to  consider  so  many  things  as  necessaries — whether  in  food,  furniture,  clothing 
or  what  not — which  really  bring  us  back  next  to  no  profit  or  pleasure  compared 
with  the  labor  spent  upon  them,  that  it  is  really  difficult  to  know  where  the  bal- 
ance of  true  economy  would  stand  if,  so  to  speak,  left  to  itself.  All  we  can  do 
is  to  take  the  existing  mode  of  life  in  its  simpler  forms,  somewhat  as  above,  and 
work  from  that  as  a  basis.  For  though  the  cottager's  way  of  living,  say  in  our 
rural  districts  or  in  the  neighborhood  of  our  large  towns,  is  certainly  superior 
to  that  of  the  well-to-do,  that  does  not  argue  that  it  is  not  capable  of  improve- 
ment.    *     *     *     * 

"\  yO  DOUBT  immense  simplifications  of  our  daily  life  are  possible;  but 
I^U  this  does  not  seem  to  be  a  matter  which  has  been  much  studied.  Rather 
•*-  ^  hitherto  the  tendency  has  been  all  the  other  way,  and  every  additional 
ornament  to  the  mantelpiece  has  been  regarded  as  an  acquisition  and  not  as  a 
nuisance;  though  one  doesn't  see  any  reason,  in  the  nature  of  things,  why  it 
should  be  regarded  as  one  more  than  the  other.  It  cannot  be  too  often  remem- 
bered that  every  additional  object  in  a  house  requires  additional  dusting,  clean- 
ing, repairing;  and  lucky  you  are  if  its  requirements  stop  there.  ^Vhen  you 
abandon  a  wholesome  tile  or  stone  floor  for  a  Turkey  carpet,  you  are  setting  out 
on  a  voyage  of  which  you  cannot  see  the  end.  The  Turkey  carpet  makes  the 
old  furniture  look  uncomfortable,  and  calls  for  stuffed  couches  and  armchairs; 
the  couches  and  armchairs  demand  a  walnut-wood  table;  the  walnut-wood  table 
requires  polishing,  and  the  polish  bottles  require  shelves;  the  couches  and  arm- 
chairs have  casters  and  springs,  which  give  way  and  want  mending;  they  have 
damask  seats,  which  fade  and  must  be  covered;  the  chintz  covers  require  wash- 
ing, and  when  washed  they  call  for  antimacassars  to  keep  them  clean.  The 
antimacassars  require  wool,  and  the  wool  requires  knitting-needles,  and  the 
knitting-needles  require  a  box,  the  box  demands  a  side  table  to  stand  on  and  the 
side  table  involves  more  covers  and  casters — and  so  we  go  on.  Meanwhile  the 
carpet  wears  out  and  has  to  be  supplemented  by  bits  of  drugget,  or  eked  out  with 
oilcloth,  and  beside  the  daily  toil  required  to  keep  this  mass  of  rubbish  in  order, 
we  have  every  week  or  month,  instead  of  the  pleasant  cleaning-day  of  old  times, 
a  terrible  domestic  convulsion  and  bouleversement  of  the  household. 

"It  is  said  by  those  who  have  traveled  in  Arabia  that  the  reason  why  there 
are  so  many  religious  enthusiasts  in  that  country,  is  that  in  the  extreme  simplicity 
of  the  life  and  uniformity  of  the  landscape  there,  heaven — in  the  form  of  the  in- 
tense blue  sky — seems  close  upon  one.  One  may  almost  see  God.  But  we 
moderns  guard  ourselves  effectually  against  this  danger.  For  beside  the  smoke 
pall  which  covers  our  towns,  we  raise  in  each  household  such  a  dust  of  trivial- 
ities that  our  attention  is  fairly  absorbed,  and  if  this  screen  subsides  for  a  moment 
we  are  sure  to  have  the  daily  paper  up  before  our  eyes  so  that  if  a  chariot  of  fire 
were  sent  to  fetch  us,  ten  to  one  we  should  not  see  it. 

"However,  if  this  multiplying  of  the  complexity  of  life  is  really  grateful  to 
some  people,  one  cannot  quarrel  with  them  for  pursuing  it;  and  to  many  it  ap- 
pears to  be  so.  When  a  sewing  machine  is  introduced  into  a  household  the 
simple-minded  husband  thinks  that,  as  it  works  ten  times  as  quick  as  the  hand, 
there  will  now  be  only  a  tenth  part  of  the  time  spent  by  his  wife  and  daughter 


THE   SIMPLIFICATION  OF  LIFE 

in  sewing  that  there  was  before.  But  he  is  ignorant  of  human  nature.  To 
his  surpnse  he  finds  that  there  is  no  difference  in  the  time.  The  difference  is 
in  the  plaits  and  flounces — they  put  ten  times  as  many  on  their  dresses.  Thus 
we  see  now  little  external  reforms  avail.  If  the  desire  for  simplicity  is  not  really 
present,  no  labor-saving  appliances  will  make  life  simpler. 

"As  a  rule  all  curtains,  hangings,  cloths  and  covers,  which  are  not  absolutely 
necessary,  would  be  dispensed  with.  They  all  create  dust  and  stiffness,  and 
all  entail  trouble  and  recurring  expense,  and  they  all  tempt  the  housekeeper 
to  keep  out  the  air  and  sunlight — two  things  of  the  last  and  most  vital  importance. 
I  like  a  room  which  looks  its  best  when  the  sun  streams  into  it  through  wide  open 
doors  and  windows.  If  the  furnishing  of  it  cannot  stand  this  test — if  it  looks 
uncomfortable  under  the  operation — you  may  be  sure  there  is  something  un- 
wholesome about  it.  As  to  the  question  of  elegance  or  adornment,  that  may 
safely  be  left  to  itself.  The  studied  effort  to  make  interiors  elegant  has  only 
ended — in  what  we  see.  After  all,  if  things  are  in  their  places  they  will  always 
look  well.  What,  by  common  consent,  is  more  graceful  than  a  ship — the  sails, 
the  spars,  the  rigging,  the  lines  of  the  hull  ?  Yet  go  on  board  and  you  will  scarce- 
ly find  one  thing  placed  there  for  the  purpose  of  adornment.  An  imperious 
necessity  rules  everything;  this  rope  could  have  no  other  place  than  it  has,  nor 
could  be  less  thick  or  thicker  than  it  is;  and  it  is,  in  fact,  this  necessity  which 
makes  the  ship  beautiful.     *     *     *     * 

"TTTITH  regard  to  clothing,  as  with  furniture  and  the  other  things,  it  can 
V/v  be  much  simplified  if  one  only  desires  it  so.  Probably,  however,  most 
"  *  people  do  not  desire  it,  and  of  course  they  are  right  in  keeping  to  the 
complications.  Who  knows  but  what  there  is  some  influence  at  work  for  some 
ulterior  purpose  which  we  do  not  guess,  in  causing  us  to  artificialize  our  lives  to 
the  extraordinary  extent  we  do  in  modern  times  ?  Our  ancestors  wore  woad, 
and  it  does  not  at  first  sight  seem  obvious  why  we  should  not  do  the  same.  With- 
out, however,  entering  into  the  woad  question,  we  may  consider  some  ways  in  which 
clothing  may  be  simplified  without  departing  far  from  the  existing  standard. 
It  seems  to  be  generally  admitted  now  that  wool  is  the  most  suitable  material 
as  a  rule.  I  find  that  a  good  woolen  coat,  such  as  is  ordinarily  worn,  feels  warmer 
when  unlined  than  it  does  when  a  layer  of  silk  or  cotton  is  interposed  between 
the  woolen  surface  and  the  body.  It  is  also  lighter;  thus  in  both  ways  the  sim- 
plification is  a  gain.  Another  advantage  is  that  it  washes  easier  and  better,  and 
is  at  all  times  cleaner.  No  one  who  has  had  the  curiosity  to  unpick  the  fining 
of  a  tailor-made  coat  that  has  been  in  wear  a  little  time,  will,  I  think,  ever  wish 
to  have  coats  made  on  the  same  principle  again.  The  rubbish  he  will  find 
inside,  the  frettings  and  frayings  of  the  cloth  collected  in  little  dirt-heaps  up  and 
down,  the  paddings  of  cotton  wool,  the  odd  lots  of  miscellaneous  stuff  used  as 
backings,  the  quantity  of  canvas  stiffening,  the  tags  and  paraphernalia  connected 
with  the  pockets,  bits  of  buckram  inserted  here  and  there  to  make  the  coat  "sit" 
well — all  these  things  will  be  a  warning  to  him.     *     *     *     * 

"And  certainly,  nowadays,  many  folk  visibly  are  in  their  coffins.  Only 
the  head  and  hands  are  out,  all  the  rest  of  the  body  clearly  sickly  with 
want    of    light    and    air,    atrophied,    stiff    in     the    joints,    strait-waistcoated. 


THE   SIMPLIFICATION   OF  LIFE 

and  partially  mummied.  Sometimes  it  seems  to  me  that  is  the  reason  why,  in  our 
modern  times,  the  curious  intellect  is  so  abnormally  developed,  the  brain  and 
the  tongue  waggle  so,  because  these  organs  alone  have  a  chance,  the  rest  are 
shut  out  from  heaven's  light  and  air;  the  poor  human  heart  grown  feeble  and 
weary  in  its  isolation  and  imprisonment,  the  liver  diseased  and  the  lungs  strait- 
ened down  to  mere  sighs  and  conventional  disconsolate  sounds  beneath  their 
cerements. 

"There  are  many  other  ways  in  which  the  details  and  labor  of  daily  life  may 
be  advantageously  reduced,  which  will  occur  to  anyone  who  turns  practical 
attention  to  the  matter.  For  myself  I  confess  to  a  great  pleasure  in  witnessing 
the  Economics  of  Life — and  how  seemingly  nothing  need  be  wasted;  how  the 
very  stones  that  offend  the  spade  in  the  garden  become  invaluable  when  foot- 
paths have  to  be  laid  out  or  drains  to  be  made.  Hats  that  are  past  wear  get 
cut  up  into  strips  for  nailing  creepers  on  the  wall ;  the  upper  leathers  of  old  shoes 
are  useful  for  the  same  purpose.  The  under  garment  that  is  too  far  gone  for 
mending  is  used  for  patching  another  less  decrepit  of  its  kind,  then  it  is  torn  up 
into  strips  for  bandages  or  what  not;  and  when  it  has  served  its  time  thus  it  de- 
scends to  floor  washing,  and  is  scrubbed  out  of  life — useful  to  the  end.  When 
my  coat  has  worn  itself  into  an  affectionate  intimacy  with  my  body,  when  it  has 
served  for  Sunday  best,  and  for  week  days,  and  got  weather-stained  out  in  the 
fields  with  the  sun  and  rain — then  faithful,  it  does  not  part  from  me,  but  getting  it- 
self cut  up  into  shreds  and  patches  descends  to  form  a  hearthrug  for  my  feet.  After 
that,  when  worn  through,  it  goes  into  the  kennel  and  keeps  my  dog  warm,  and  so 
after  lapse  of  years,  retiring  to  the  manure-heaps  and  passing  out  on  to  the  land, 
returns  to  me  in  the  form  of  potatoes  for  my  dinner;  or  being  pastured  by  my 
sheep,  reappears  upon  their  backs  as  the  material  of  new  clothing.  Thus  it 
remains  a  friend  to  all  time,  grateful  to  me  for  not  having  despised  and  thrown 
it  away  when  it  first  got  behind  the  fashions.  And  seeing  we  have  been  faithful 
to  each  other,  my  coat  and  I,  for  one  round  or  life-period,  I  do  not  see  why  we 
should  not  renew  our  intimacy — in  other  metamorphoses — or  why  we  should 
ever  quite  lose  touch  of  each  other  through  the  aeons. 

"In  the  above  sketch  my  object  has  been  not  so  much  to  put  forward  any 
theory  of  the  conduct  of  daily  life,  or  to  maintain  that  one  method  of  living  is  of 
itself  superior  to  another,  as  to  try  and  come  at  the  facts  connected  with  the  sub- 
ject. In  the  long  run  every  household  has  to  support  itself;  the  benefits  and 
accommodations  it  receives  from  society  have  to  be  covered  by  the  labor  it  ex- 
pends for  society.  This  cannot  be  got  over.  The  present  effort  of  a  large 
number  of  people  to  live  on  interest  and  dividends,  and  so  in  a  variety  of  ways 
on  the  labor  of  others,  is  simply  an  effort  to  make  water  run  up  hill;  it  cannot 
last  very  long.  The  balance,  then,  between  the  labor  that  you  may  consume 
and  the  labor  that  you  expend  may  be  struck  in  many  different  ways,  but  it  has 
to  be  struck;  and  I  have  been  interested  to  bring  together  some  materials  for  an 
easy  solution  of  the  problem." 


"THE  ART  OF  BUILDING  A  HOME":  BY  BARRY 
PARKER  AND  RAYMOND  UNWIN 

S  A  nation  we  do  not  easily  submit  to  coercion.  We  want  a  hand 
in  the  government,  national  or  local.  We  are  pretty  direct  if 
we  do  not  like  a  senator  or  a  governor,  and  express  our  opinion 
fully  of  our  ministers  and  college  presidents.  In  more  intimate 
matters  of  courtship  and  marriage  we  regard  ourselves  as  more 
independent  than  any  other  nation.  We  marry  usually  whom 
we  please,  and  live  where  we  please,  and  work  as  we  please — 
but  when  it  comes  to  that  most  vital  matter — building  a  home,  individuality 
and  independence  seem  to  vanish,  and  we  are  browbeaten  alike  by  architect, 
builder,  contractor,  interior  decorator,  picture  dealer  and  furniture  man.  We  live 
in  any  old  house  that  anyone  else  has  discarded,  and  we  submit  to  all  manner 
of  tyrannies  as  to  the  size,  style  and  finish  of  our  houses,  impertinences  that  we 
would  not  permit  in  any  other  detail  of  life.  We  not  only  imitate  foreign  ideals 
in  our  architecture,  but  we  have  become  artificial  and  unreal  in  all  the  detail 
of  the  finish  and  fittings  of  our  homes.  How  many  of  us  would  dare  to  rise  up 
and  assert  sufficient  individuality  to  plan  and  build  a  house  that  exactly  suited 
our  personal  ideal  of  comfort  and  beauty,  and  represented  our  station  in  life  ? 
And  to  what  extent  can  we  hope  for  finer  ideals  in  a  country  that  is  afraid 
to  be  sincere  in  that  most  significant  feature  of  national  achievement — the  home. 
We  are  a  country  of  self-supporting  men  and  women,  and  we  cannot  expect  to 
develop  an  honest  significant  architecture  until  we  build  homes  that  are  simple, 
yet  beautiful,  that  proclaim  fine  democratic  standards  and  that  are  essentially 
appropriate  to  busy  intelligent  people. 

That  this  same  state  of  affairs  prevails  somewhat  in  other  lands  (though 
nowhere  to  the  same  extent  as  in  America)  we  realize  from  the  writing  of  two 
well-known  English  architects,  Barry  Parker  and  Raymond  Unwin,  who  in  a 
series  of  lectures  published  under  the  title  of  "The  Art  of  Building  a  Home" 
have  entered  a  plea  for  greater  honesty  in  architecture  and  greater  sincerity 
in  decoration  which  ought  to  strike  a  responsive  chord  in  the  heart  of  every 
American  who  has  contemplated  the  foolish,  unthinking,  artificial  structures 
which  we  have  vainly  called  homes. 

In  the  introduction  to  this  vital  valuable  little  book  Messrs.  Parker  and 
Unwin  take  up  the  question  of  lack  of  thought  in  architecture  in  so  simple, 
straightforward  and  illuminating  a  fashion  that  it  has  seemed  wise  to  present  it 
to  the  readers  of  Craftsman  Homes  as  expressing  our  creeds  and  establishing 
more  fully  our  own  ideals! 

"rTT^HE  way  we  run  in  ruts  is  wonderful:  our  inability  to  find  out  the  right 

principles  upon  which  to  set  to  work  to  accomplish  what  we  take  in 

hand,  or  to  go  to  the  bottom  of  things,  is  simply  astonishing:  while  the 

resignation  with  which  we  accept  the  Recognized  and  Usual  as  the  Right  and 

Inevitable  is  really  beautiful. 

"  In  nothing  is  this  tendency  more  noticeable  than  in  the  art  of  house-building. 
We  begin  by  considering  what,  in  the  way  of  a  house,  our  neighbors  have;  what 
they  would  expect  us  to  have;  what  is  customary  in  the  rank  of  life  to  which  we 
belong;  anything,  in  fact,  but  what  are  our  actual  needs.    About  the  last  thing 


THE   ART  OF  BUILDING   A   HOME 

we  do  is  to  make  our  home  take  just  that  form  which  will,  in  the  most  straight- 
forward manner,  meet  our  requirements.     *     *     *     * 

"The  planning  having  been  dictated  by  convention,  all  the  details  are  worked 
out  under  the  same  influence.  To  each  house  is  applied  a  certain  amount  of 
meaningless  mechanical  and  superficial  ornamentation  according  to  some  recog- 
nized standard.  No  use  whatever  is  made  of  the  decorative  properties  inherent 
in  the  construction  and  in  the  details  necessary  to  the  building.  These  are  put 
as  far  as  possible  out  of  sight.  For  example,  latches  and  locks  are  all  let  into 
the  doors  leaving  visible  the  knobs  only.  The  hinges  are  hidden  in  the  rebate 
of  the  door  frame,  while  the  real  door  frame,  that  which  does  the  work,  is  covered 
up  with  a  strip  of  flimsy  molded  board  styled  the  architrave.  All  constructional 
features,  wherever  possible,  are  smeared  over  with  a  coat  of  plaster  to  bring 
them  up  to  the  same  dead  level  of  flat  monotony,  leaving  a  clear  field  for  the 
erection  of  the  customary  abominations  in  the  form  of  cornices,  imitation  beams 
where  no  beams  are  wanted,  and  plaster  brackets  which  could  support,  and  do 
support,  nothing.  Even  with  the  fire  the  chief  aim  seems  to  be  to  acknowledge 
as  few  of  its  properties  and  characteristics  as  possible;  it  is  buried  as  deep  in 
the  wall  and  as  far  out  of  sight  and  out  of  the  way  as  may  be;  it  is  smothered 
up  with  as  much  uncongenial  and  inappropriate  "enrichment"  as  can-be  crowded 
round  it;  and,  to  add  the  final  touch  of  senseless  incongruity,  some  form  of  that 
massive  and  apparently  very  constructional  and  essential  thing  we  call  a  man- 
telpiece is  erected,  in  wood,  stone  or  marble,  towering  it  may  be  even  to  the 
ceiling.  If  we  were  not  so  accustomed  to  it,  great  would  be  our  astonishment 
to  find  that  this  most  prominent  feature  has  really  no  function  whatever,  beyond 
giving  cause  for  a  lot  of  other  things  as  useful  and  beautiful  as  itself,  which  exist 
only  that  they  may  be  put  upon  it,  '  to  decorate  it.'     *     *     *     * 

"The  essence  and  life  of  design  lies  in  finding  that  form  for  anything  which 
will,  with  the  maximum  of  convenience  and  beauty,  fit  it  for  the  particular  func- 
tions it  has  to  perform,  and  adapt  it  to  the  special  circumstances  in  which  it 
must  be  placed.  Perhaps  the  most  fruitful  source  whence  charm  of  design 
arises  in  anything,  is  the  grace  with  which  it  serves  its  purpose  and  conforms 
to  its  surroundings.  How  many  of  the  beautiful  features  of  the  work  of  past 
ages,  which  we  now  arbitrarily  reproduce  and  copy,  arose  out  of  the  skilful  and 
graceful  way  in  which  some  old  artist-craftsman,  or  chief  mason,  got  over  a 
difficulty!  If,  instead  of  copying  these  features  when  and  where  the  cause  for 
them  does  not  exist,  we  would  rather  emulate  the  spirit  in  which  they  were  pro- 
duced, there  would  be  more  hope  of  again  seeing  life  and  vigor  in  our  architecture 
and  design. 

"TX7HEN  the  architect  leaves  the  house,  the  subservience  to  convention 
W  is  not  over.  After  him  follow  the  decorator  and  the  furnisher,  who 
try  toj  overcome  the  lifelessness  and  vapidity  by  covering  all  surfaces 
with  fugitive  decorations  and  incongruous  patterns,  and  filling  the  rooms  with 
flimsy  stereotyped  furniture  and  nick-nacks.  To  these  the  mistress  of  the  house 
will  be  incessantly  adding,  from  an  instinctive  feeling  of  the  incompleteness  and 
unsatisfactoriness  of  the  whole.  Incidentally  we  see  here  one  reason  why  the 
influence  of  the  architect  should  not  stop  at  the  completion  of  the  four  walls,  but 


THE   ART  OF  BUILDING   A   HOME 

should  extend  to  the  last  detail  of  the  furnished  house.  When  his  responsibility 
ceases  with  the  erection  of  the  shell,  it  is  natural  that  he  should  look  very  little 
beyond  this.  There  is  no  inducement  for  him  to  work  out  any  definite  scheme 
for  a  finished  room,  for  he  knows  that  if  he  had  any  aim  the  decorator  and 
furnisher  would  certainly  miss  it  and  would  fail  to  complete  his  creation.  If, 
when  designing  a  house,  the  architect  were  bearing  in  mind  the  effect  each  room 
would  have  when  finished  and  furnished,  his  conceptions  would  be  influenced 
from  the  very  beginning,  and  his  attitude  toward  the  work  would  tend  to  under- 
go an  entire  change.  At  present  he  but  too  readily  accepts  the  popular  idea  of 
art  as  a  thing  quite  apart  from  life,  a  sort  of  trimming  to  be  added  if  funds  allow. 

"It  is  this  prevalent  conception  of  beauty  as  a  sweetmeat,  something  rather 
nice  which  may  be  taken  or  left  according  to  inclination  after  the  solid  meal 
has  been  secured,  which  largely  causes  the  lack  of  comeliness  we  find  in  our 
bouses.  Before  this  idea  can  be  dispelled  and  we  can  appreciate  either  the  place 
which  art  should  hold  in  our  lives  or  the  importance  of  rightly  educating  the 
appreciation  of  it,  we  must  realize  that  beauty  is  part  of  the  necessary  food  of 
any  life  worth  the  name;  that  art,  which  is  the  expression  of  beauty  as  conceived 
and  created  by  man,  is  primarily  concerned  with  the  making  of  the  useful  gar- 
ments of  life  beautiful,  not  with  the  trimming  of  them;  and  that,  moreover,  in 
its  higher  branches  art  is  the  medium  through  which  the  most  subtle  ideas  are 
conveyed  from  man  to  man. 

"Understanding  something  of  the  true  meaning  of  art,  we  may  set  about 
realizing  it,  at  least  in  the  homes  which  are  so  much  within  our  control.  Let 
us  have  in  our  houses,  rooms  where  there  shall  be  space  to  carry  on  the  business 
of  life  freely  and  with  pleasure,  with  furniture  made  for  use ;  rooms  where  a  drop 
of  water  spilled  is  not  fatal;  where  the  life  of  a  child  is  not  made  a  burden  to  it 
by  unnecessary  restraint;  plain,  simple,  and  ungarnished  if  necessary,  but  honest. 
Let  us  have  such  ornament  as  we  do  have  really  beautiful  and  wrought  by  hand, 
carving,  wrought  metal,  embroidery,  painting,  something  which  it  has  given 
pleasure  to  the  producer  to  create,  and  which  shows  this  in  every  line — the  only 
possible  work  of  art.  Let  us  call  in  the  artist,  bid  him  leave  his  easel  pictures, 
and  paint  on  our  walls  and  over  the  chimney  corner  landscapes  and  scenes 
which  shall  bring  light  and  life  into  the  room;  which  shall  speak  of  nature, 
purity,  and  truth;  shall  become  part  of  the  room,  of  the  walls  on  which  they 
are  painted,  and  of  the  lives  of  us  who  live  beside  them;  paintings  which  our 
children  shall  grow  up  to  love,  and  always  connect  with  scenes  of  home  with  that 
vividness  of  a  memory  from  childhood  which  no  time  can  efface.  Then,  if 
necessary,  let  the  rest  of  the  walls  go  untouched  in  all  the  rich  variety  of  color 
and  tone,  of  light  and  shade,  of  the  naked  brickwork.  Let  the  floor  go  uncar- 
peted,  and  the  wood  unpainted,  that  we  may  have  time  to  think,  and  money 
with  which  to  educate  our  children  to  think  also.  Let  us  have  rooms  which 
once  decorated  are  always  decorated,  rooms  fit  to  be  homes  in  the  fullest  poetry 
of  the  name;  in  which  no  artificiality  need  momentarily  force  us  to  feel  shame 
for  things  of  which  we  know  there  is  nothing  to  be  ashamed:  rooms  which  can 
form  backgrounds,  fitting  and  dignified,  at  the  time  and  in  our  memories,  for 
all  those  little  scenes,  those  acts  of  kindness  and  small  duties,  as  well  as  the  scenes 
of  deep  emotion  and  trial,  which  make  up  the  drama  of  our  lives  at  home." 


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A   CRAFTSMAN    HOUSE    FOUNDED    ON    THE    CALI- 
FORNIA MISSION  STYLE 


E  have  selected  for  presenta- 
I  i<  m  here  what  we  consider 
the  best  of  the  houses  de- 
signed in  The  Craftsman 
Workshops  and  published 
in  The  Craftsman  during 
the  past  five  years.  Brought 
together  in  this  way  into  a 
closely  related  group,  hese  designs  serve  to 
show  the  development  of  the  Craftsman  idea 
of  home  building,  decoration  and  furnishing, 
and  to  make  plain  the  fundamental  principles 
which  underlie  the  plai  ning  of  every  Crafts- 
man house.  These  principles  are  simplicity, 
durability,  fitness  for  the  life  that  is  to  be 
lived  in  the  house  and  harmony  with  its 
natural  surroundings.  Given  these  things,  the 
beauty  and  comfort  of  the  home  environment 
develops  as  naturally  as  a  flowering  plant  from 
the  root. 

As  will  be  seen,  these  houses  range  from  the 
simplest  little  cottages  or  bungalows  costing 
only  a  few  hundred  dollars,  up  to  large  and 
expensive  residences.  But  they  are  all  Crafts- 
man houses,  nevertheless,  and  all  are  designed 
with  regard  to  the  kind  of  durability  that  will 
insure  freedom  from  the  necessity  of  frequent 
repairs ;  to  the  greatest  economy  of  space  and 
material,  and  to  the  securing  of  plenty  of  space 
and  freedom  in  the  interior  of  the  house  by 
doing  away  with  unnecessary  partitions  and 
the  avoidance  of  any  kind  of  crowding.  For 
interest,  beauty,  and  the  effect  of  home  com- 
fort and  welcome,  we  depend  upon  the  liberal 
use  of  wood  finished  in  such  a  way  that  all  its 
friendliness  is  revealed;  upon  warmth,  rich- 
ness, and  variety  in  the  color  scheme  of  walls, 
rugs  and  draperies,  and  upon  the  charm  of 
structural    features    such    as    chimneypieces. 


window-seats,  staircases,  fireside  nooks,  and 
built-in  furnishings  of  all  kinds,  our  object 
being  to  have  each  room  so  interesting  in  itself 
that  it  seems  complete  before  a  single  piece  of 
furniture  is  put  into  it. 

This  plain  cement  house  has  been  selected 
for  presentation  at  the  head  of  the  list  chiefly 
because  it  was  the  first  house  designed  in  The 
Craftsman  Workshops  and  was  published  in 
The  Craftsman  for  January,  1904,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  newly  formed  Home  Builders' 
Club.  Therefore  it  serves  to  furnish  us  with 
a  starting  point  from  which  we  may  judge 
whether  or  not  any  advance  has  since  been 
made  in  the  application  of  the  Craftsman  idea 
to  the  planning  and  furnishing  of  houses. 

It  was  only  natural  that  our  first  expression 
of  this  idea  should  take  shape  in  a  house 
which,  without  being  exactly  founded  on  the 
Mission  architecture  so  much  used  in  Cali- 
fornia, is  nevertheless  reminiscent  of  that 
style,  this  effect  being  given  by  the  low  broad 
proportions  of  the  building  and  the  use  of 
shallow,  round  arches  over  the  entrance  and 
the  two  openings  which  give  light  and  air  to 
the  recessed  porch  in  front.  The  thick  cement 
walls  are  left  rough,  a  primitive  treatment 
that  produces  a  quality  and  texture  difficult 
to  obtain  by  any  other  method  and  to  which 
time  and  weather  lend  additional  interest. 
The  roof,  which  is  low  pitched  and  has  a 
fairly  strong  projection,  is  covered  with  un- 
glazed  red  Spanish  tile  in  the  usual  lap-roll 
pattern  with  ridge  rolls  and  cresting.  The 
house,  as  it  stands,  is  a  fair  example  of  the 
way  in  which  the  problem  of  the  exterior  has 
been  solved  by  the  combination  of  three  fac- 
tors :  simplicity  of  building  materials,  em- 
ployment of  constructive  features  as  the  onlv 


9 


10 


A    CRAFTSMAN    HOUSE    IX    CALIFORNIA  MISSION    STYLE 


decoration,  and  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  color  element 
which  is  so  necessary  in 
bringing  about  the  neces- 
sary harmony  between  the 
house  and  its  surroundings. 
In   this   case   the    walls    are 


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&IIV1NG 

----  JZCSDI^I  - 

I    ii    ii 


FIRST   STORY  FLOOR    PLAN 


treated  with  a  pigment  that  gives  a  soft 
warm  creamy  tone,  almost  a  biscuit  color, 
and  the  roof  is  dull  red, — a  scheme  that 
is  excellently  suited  to  the  prevailing 
color  in  California  or  in  the  South,  where 
yellows,  browns  and  violets  abound.  For 
the  colder  coloring  of  the  northern  or 
eastern  landscape,  the  cement  walls  might 
either  be  left  in  the  natural  gray,  or  given 
a  tone  of  dull  green,  which,  applied  un- 
evenly, gives  an  admirable  effect  upon 
rough  cast  plaster.  Or,  for  that  matter, 
the  house  might  be  built  of  brick,  stone, 
or  of  any  one  of  the  various  forms  of 
concrete  construction.  And  the  roof  could 
be  of  tile,  heavy  shingles,  or.  if  given  a 
steeper  pitch,  of  heavy,  rough  slate.  In 
fact,  the  design  as  shown  here  is  chiefly 
suggestive  in  its  nature,  making  clear  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  Craftsman 
house  and  leaving  room  for  such  varia- 
tion of  detail  as  the  owner  mav  desire. 


It  will  be  noted  that  the  foundation  is 
not  visible  and  that  the  turf  and  shrub- 
bery around  it  appear  to  cling  to  the 
walls  of  the  house, — a  circumstance 
that  is  apparently  slight  and  yet  has  a 
good  deal  to  do  with  the  linking  of  a 
house  to  the  ground  on  which  it  stands. 
This  effect  would  be  greatly  heightened 
by  a  growth  of  vines  over  the  large 
plain  wall  spaces,  which  would  lend 
themselves  admirably  to  a  natural 
drapery  of  ivy  or  ampelopsis. 

The  treatment  of  the  interior  is 
based  upon  the  principles  already  laid 
down,  the  object  being  to  obtain  the 
maximum  effect  of  beauty  and  com- 
fort from  materials  which  are  few 
in  number  and  comparatively  inex- 
pensive. Although  we  have  not  space 
here  for  illustration  of  the  interior 
features,  a  description  of  the  color 
scheme  employed  and  of  the  use  made 
of  woodwork  and  built-in  furnishings 
may  serve  to  give  some  idea  of  its 
character.  While  the  outside  of  the 
house  is  plain  to  severity,  the  inside, 
as  we  have  designed  it,  glows  with 
color  and  is  rich  in  suggestion  of  home 
comfort.  As  in 
a  1 1  Craftsman 
houses,  wood  is 
abundantly  used 
in  the  form  of 
beams,  wainscots 
a  n  d  numerous 
built-in  furnish- 
ings. 


SECOND  STORY  FLOOR   PLAN. 


11 


AN    OLD  FASHIONED    HOUSE    WITH    THE    DINING 
ROOM   AND   KITCHEN   IN   ONE 


Published   in    The   Craftsman,   May,  7905. 

VIEW    OF    HOUSE    FROM    THE    FRONT    SHOWING    DORMERS,  ENTRANCE    PORCH    AND   GROUPING    OF    WINDOWS. 


UPON    looking    over    the    plan    of    this 
compact  little  dwelling,  it  occurs  to  us 
that   possibly    some   people   might    like 
the  general  idea  of  the  house  and  yet 
not  find  it  convenient  to  go  into  the  simple  life 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  have  the  dining  room 


and  kitchen  in  one,  as  suggested  here.  Per- 
sonally we  like  very  much  the  homely  comfort 
and  good  cheer  which  belongs  to  the  big,  old- 
fashioned  kitchen  which  is  exquisitely  kept  and 
which  has  in  it  room  for  the  dining  table.  But 
in  order  to  make  such  an  arrangement  a  suc- 


SECOND  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 


12 


AX  OLD-FASHIONED  HOUSE 


vica/e 


cess,  a  woman  would  have  to  be 
the  sort  of  a  housekeeper  her  grand- 
mother probablv  was,  and  take  a 
personal  interest  in  her  cupboard 
shelves  and  the  brilliancy  of  her  copper  and 
brass  cooking-  utensils,  which  few  women 
nowadays  have  time  to  do. 

For    those    who    prefer    a    separate    dining 
room  and  a  kitchen  proper,  we  would  suggest 


T"ELF2.f^/avOEL 


FIRST    STORY    FLOOR    PLAN. 


that  the  pantry  and  storeroom  be 
thrown  into  one  and  used  for  a 
kitchen.  The  chimney  built  for  the 
range  would  serve  equally  well  for 
a  fireplace  in  the  dining  room,  and  the  range, 
if  set  in  the  adjoining  corner,  could  easily  be 
connected  with  the  same  flue.  One  of  the 
pleasantest  features  is  the  veranda  at  the  back, 
which  can  be  enclosed  with  glass  in  winter. 


RECESSED   VERANDA    AT   THE   BACK   OF  THE    HOUSE,    WHICH   MAY    BE    USED 
CLASSED     IN     FOR     A     CONSERVATORY     OR     SUN     ROOM     IN    WINTER. 


AS    A     DINING    TORCH     IN     SUMMF.R     AND 


13 


AN|OLD  FASHIONED  HOUSE 


LIVING  ROOM,  SHOWING  FIREPLACE  OF  SPLIT  BOULDERS;  NOOK  WITH  BUILT-IN  BOOKCASES  AND  WRITING  DESK; 
DIVISION  OF  WALL  SPACES  BY  WAINSCOTING,  STENCILED  PANELS  AND  FRIEZE,  AND  EFFECT  OF  CASEMENTS  SET 
HIGH    IN    THE    WALL    ABOVE    THE    WAINSCOT. 


KITCHEN  AND  DINING  ROOM  COMBINED,  SHOWING  RANGE  SET  IN  A  RECESS  AND  HOODED  TO  CARRY  OFF  COOKING 
ODORS;  THE  DECORATIVE  EFFECT  OF  AN  OLD-FASHIONED  CUPBOARD  BUILT  INTO  THE  WALL  AND  THE  PLACING  OF 
THE  DINING  TABLE  BENEATH   A  GROUP  OF  FOUR  WINDOWS. 

14 


A     SMALL     COTTAGE     THAT     IS     COMFORTABLE. 
ATTRACTIVE  AND  INEXPENSIVE 


NOTE  THE  DIVISION  OF  SPACE  SO  THAT  THE  GREATEST  AMOUNT  OF  FREEDOM  AND  CONVENIENCE  IS  OBTAINED 
WITHIN  A  SMALL  AREA.  THE  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  INTERIOR  SERVE  TO  SHOW  HOW  THE  STRUCTURAL  FEATURES.. 
ALTHOUGH  SIMPLE  AND  INEXPENSIVE,  GIVE  TO  EACH  ROOM  AN  INDIVIDUAL  BEAUTY  AND  CHARM.  THE  KITCHEN 
IS    ARRANGED   TO   SERVE    ALSO    FOR    A    DINING    ROOM. 

15 


A   PLAIN   HOUSE  THAT   WILL  LAST  FOR  GENERA 
TIONS   AND   NEED   BUT   FEW    REPAIRS 


Published    in    The    i  raftsman.   July,   J905. 
EXTERIOR   VIEW    SHOWING    STRUCTURAL    USE   OF   TIMBERS    ON    UPPER    STORY    AND    EFFECT    OF    BUNGALOW    ROOF. 


MOST  of  the  Craftsman  houses  are 
designed  for  an  environment  which 
admits  of  plenty  of  ground  or  at 
least  of  a  large  garden  around  them, 
but  this  one. — while  of  course  at  its  best  in 
such  surroundings, — would  serve  admirably 
for  a  dwelling  to  be  built  on  an  ordinary  city 
lot  large  enough  to  accommodate  a  house  thirty 
feet  square.  Seen  from  the  exterior,  the  house 
shows  a  simplicity  and  thoroughness  of  con- 
struction which  makes  for  the  greatest  dura- 
bility and  minimizes  the  necessity  for  repairs. 
Also  the  rooms  on  both  floors  are  so  arranged 
as  to  utilize  to  the  best  advantage  every  inch 
of  space  and  to  afford  the  greatest  facility  for 
communication ;  a  plan  that  tends  to  lighten 
by  many  degrees  the  burden  of  housekeeping. 
In  looking  over  the  plan  of  the  interior,  we 
would  suggest  one  modification  which  is  more 
in  accord  with  the  later  Craftsman  houses.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  the  doors  leading  from 
the  hall  into  the  living  room  and  dining  room 
are  of  the  ordinary  size.  YVe  have  found  the 
feeling  of  space  and  freedom  throughout  the 
rooms  intended  for  the  common  life  of  the 
family  so  much  more  attractive  than  the 
shutting  off  of  each  room  into  a  separate  com- 


partment, so  to  speak,  that  were  we  to  revise 
this  plan  in  the  light  of  our  later  experience, 
we  would  widen  these  openings  so  that  the 
partitions  would  either  be  taken  out  entirely 
or  else  be  suggested  merely  by  a  panel  and  post 
extending  only  two  or  three  feet  from  the  wall 
and  open  at  the  top  after  the  fashion  of  so 
many  of  the  Craftsman  interiors.  This  device 
serves  to  break  the  space  pleasantly  by  the 
introduction  of  a  structural  feature  which  is 
always  decorative  and  yet  to  leave  unhampered 
the  space  which  should  be  clear  and  open. 

While  we  advocate  the  utmost  economy  of 
space  and  urge  simplicity  as  to  furnishing,  we 
nevertheless  make  it  a  point  to  render  im- 
possible even  a  passing  impression  of  barren- 
ness or  monotony.  As  we  have  said,  this  is 
partly  a  matter  of  woodwork,  general  color 
scheme  and  interesting  structural  features  that 
make  each  room  a  beautiful  thing  in  itself, 
independent  of  any  furnishing.  But  also  we 
realize  the  never  ending  charm  of  irregularity 
in  arrangement,  that  is,  of  having  the  rooms 
so  placed  and  nooks  and  corners  so  abundant 
that  the  whole  cannot  be  taken  in  at  one  glance. 

In  this  case  the  simple  oblong  of  the  living 
room  is  broken   by  the  window   seat  on   one 


16 


A  PLAIN  IIOUSK  THAT  WILL  LAST  FOR  GENERATIONS 


FIRST    STOKV    FLOOR    PLAN. 


SECOND    STORY    FLOOR    PLAN. 

side  and  the  alcove  with  its  chimneypiece  and 
fireside  seats  on  the  other.  Just  beside  the 
alcove  is  a  group  of  casement  windows  set 
high  in  the  wall,  so  that  the  sill  comes  just  on 
a  level  with  the  top  of  an  upright  piano.  The 
same  line  is  carried  all  around  the  room,  which 
is  wainscoted  preferably  with  oak  or  chestnut. 


END     OF     DINING     ROOM.     SHOWING     EFFECT     OF     BUILT-IN    SIDEBOARD, 
BUILT-IN     CUPBOARD     APPEARS     AT     THE     SIDE     OF     THE     ROOM. 


PICTURE     WINDOW     AND     GLASS     DOORS. 


17 


A  PLAIN  HOUSE  THAT  WILL  LAST  FOR  GENERATIONS 


FIRESIDE  NOOK  IN  THE  LIVING  ROOM,  SHOWING  ARRANGEMENT  OF  SEATS  AND  THE  PLACING  OF  A  CRAFTSMAN 
PIANO  JUST  BELOW  A  GROUP  OF  CASEMENTS.  THE  DECO  RATIONS  IN  THE  WALL  PANELS  ARE  STENCILED  ON  ROUGH 
ri.ASTER    IN    COLORS    THAT    ARE    MEANT    TO    ACCENT    THE    GENERAL   COLOR    SCHEME. 


BEDROOM  SHOWING  A  TYPICAL  CRAFTSMAN  SCHEME  FOR  DECORATIXC  AND  FURNISHING  A  SLEEPING  ROOM.  NOTE 
THE  DIVISION  OF  WALL  SPACES  INTO  PANELS  BY  STRIPS  OF  WOOD.  THE  PANELS  ARE  COVERED  WITH  JAPANESE 
CRASS-CLOTH. 

18 


A   COTTAGE  OF  CEMENT  OR  STONE  THAT  IS  CON- 
VENIENTLY   ARRANGED    FOR    A  SMALL    FAMILY 


the    KiTcnnn 

TV 

CRAFTSMAN 
COTTAGE- 


THE.    LIVING     KCBM 


=4 


Published  in   The  Craftsman,  April,   7905. 

THE  DRAWING  OF  THE  EXTERIOR  SHOWS  THE  GRACEFUL  LINKS  AND  PROPORTIONS  OF  THE  COTTAGE.  THE  GLIMPSES 
GIVEN  OF  THE  INTERIOR  SHOW  HOW  A  HOODED  RANGE  IS  PLACED  IN  A  RECESS  AND  THEREFORE  OUT  OF  THE  WAV  IN 
THE  ROOM  WHICH  SERVES  AS  KITCHEN  AND  DINING  ROOM,  AND  ALSO  HOW  A  LIVING  ROOM  MAY  BE  MADE  INDI- 
VIDUAL   AND   CHARMING    AT    VERY    LITTLE    COST. 


19 


SUBURBAN   HOUSE  DESIGNED  FOR  A  LOT  HAVING 
WIDE   FRONTAGE  BUT   LITTLE  DEPTH 


Published   in    The  Craftsman,   September,   1905. 
HOW    THE    HOUSE   LOOKS    WITH    AMPLE    GROUNDS    AROUND    IT    AND    A    SETTING   OF    TREES    FOR    A    BACKGROUND. 


THIS  house  was  designed  primarily  for 
use  in  the  suburbs  and  the  plan  was 
adapted  to  a  lot  with  wide  frontage, 
but  no  great  amount  of  depth.  Of 
course,  it  would  be  better  to  have  such  a 
building  surrounded  by  plenty  of  lawn,  trees 
and  shrubs;  but  if  ground  space  were  limited, 
a  great  deal  could  be  made  even  of  a  meager 
allowance  for  front  and  back  yards. 

While  the  design  admits  the  use  of  other 
materials  which  may  be  better  suited  to  a 
given  locality  or  considered  more  desirable  by 
the  owner,  our  plan  was  to  have  the  house 
built  of  stone  and  shingles,  the  lower  story 
and  chimneys  being  of  split  field  stone  laid 
up  in  dark  cement,  and  the  upper  story  of 
cedar  or  rived  cypress  shingles,  so  finished 
that  they  are  given  a  soft  gray  tone  in  har- 
monv  with  the  prevailing  color  of  the  stones. 
We  have  suggested  that  the  shingle  roof  be 
stained  or  painted  a  soft  moss  green. 

We  regard  the  arrangement  of  these 
verandas  as  being  especially  comfortable  and 
convenient,  for  although  none  of  them  are 
large,  thev  serve  admirably  to  supplement  the 
inner  rooms  by  furnishing  what  are  practi- 
cally outdoor  rooms  for  general  use.  The 
front  veranda,  which   is  partially  recessed,  is 


sheltered  from  the  street  by  the  parapets  and 
flower  boxes.  As  doors  open  from  this  veranda 
into  the  hall,  dining  room  and  living  room,  it 
is  much  more  closely  connected  with  the 
house  proper  than  is  the  case  with  the  usual 
entrance  porch,  and  is  well  fitted  to  serve  as 
an  outdoor  sitting  room.  The  veranda  at  the 
back  of  the  house  opens  from  the  dining 
room  and  is  meant  to  be  used  as  a  dining 
porch  in  summer  time.  Another  door  open- 
ing into  the  pantry  makes  it  easy  to  serve 
meals  out  there.  In  winter  this  porch  can 
easily  be  glassed  in  and  used  as  a  conservatory 
or  sun  room,  and  if  heated,  would  make  a  very- 
pleasant  place  for  the  serving  of  afternoon  tea 
or  for  any  such  use.  A  third  veranda  opens 
from  the  kitchen  and  is  meant  especially  for 
the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  servants. 
We  would  suggest  here  also  that  the  open- 
ings from  the  hall  into  the  dining  room  and 
living  room  be  very  much  wider — a  thing 
which  could  be  easily  done  and  which  is  now  a 
feature  of  all  the  Craftsman  houses.  A  glance 
at  the  floor  plan  will  suggest  the  charm  of  such 
an  arrangement,  as  it  would  allow  a  long  vista 
from  one  fireplace  to  the  other  and  would 
add  much  to  the  comfort  and  charm  of  the 
house  as  a  whole.     As  will  be  noted,  the  liv- 


-20 


SUBURBAN  HOUSE  FOR  WIDE  LOT  WITH  LITTLE  DEPTH 


ing  room  fireplace  is  flanked 
on  either  side  by  a  built-in 
bookcase  with  a  casement 
window  above,  and  in  the 
dining  room  the  same  ar- 
rangement furnishes  two 
china  closets  surmounted  by 
casements    set    high     in    the 


wall.  The  chimneypiece  in 
the  living  room  is  tiled  and 
the  mantelpiece  is  on  a  level 
with  the  top  of  the  wainscot, 
which  runs  around  the  room ; 
but  in  the  dining  room  the  straight,  massive 
brick  chimneypiece  runs  to  the  ceiling,  thus 
affording  a  pleasant  variation  in  what  other- 
wise might  be  too  even  a  balance  in  the  ar- 
rangement. The  most  decorative  structural 
feature  in  the  hall  is  the  staircase,  which  is 
lighted  by  two  casements  set  high  above  the 
lower  landing  and  having  wide 
sills,  so  that  they  afford  an  admir- 
able place  for  plants. 

The  hall  and  dining  room  are 
wainscoted  and  the  wall  spaces  in 
the  living  room  are  divided  into 
panels  by  broad  stiles  of  wood. 
As  the  woodwork  is  so  essential 
in    the    decorative    plan,    it    should 


FIRST   STORY   FLOOR    PLAN. 


be  selected  with  great 
care  and  finished  in  a 
way  to  bring  out  all  its 
charm  of  color,  texture 
and  grain.  The  general 
arrangement  and  style  of  the  house  would 
seem  to  demand  some  strong  fibred,  richly 
marked  wood,  which  always  seems  best  suited 
to  rooms  intended  for  general  use. 

The  color  scheme  always  is  a  matter  of 
individual  choice,  but  a  safe  rule  to  follow  is 
to  select  some  wood  of  rich  and  quiet  coloring 
for  the  woodwork,  and 
develop  from  that  the 
color  of  the  wall  spaces, 
rugs  and  draperies. 


SECOND  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 


21 


SUBURBAN  HOUSE  FOR  WIDE  LOT  WITH  LITTLE  DEPTH 


PARTIALLY    RECESSED    ENTRANCE    PORCH.     SO     SHIELDED    BY    PARAPETS     WD    FLOWER    BOXES    THAT    IT    .MAY    BE    USED 
AS    AN    OUTDOOR    LIVING   ROOM. 


CORNER    OF    THE    LIVING    ROOM.    SHOWING     STRUCTURAL    EFFECT    OF    FIREPLACE    AND   THE    BUILT-IN    BOOKCASES    SET 
FLUSH    ON     EITHER    SIDE    SO    THAT    THE    TOPS    ARE    PRACTICALLY    AN    EXTENSION    OF    THE    MANTEL. 


A    VERY    SIMPLE    AND    INEXPENSIVE    COTTAGE 
BUILT    OF    BATTENED    BOARDS 


■ 


THE      KIT'."1  '.r  \n 


rnc  jllviisq  Koorx 


A    CRAFTSMAN      COTTAGE 


1 


Published    in    The   Craftsman,   April,    1905. 

AN  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  DECORATIVE  POSSIBILITIES  OF  SIMPLE  BATTENED  BOARDS.  THE  INTERIOR  MEWS  CONTAIN 
ANOTHER  SUGGESTION  FOR  THE  ARRANGEMENT  OF  A  COMBINED  KITCHEN  AND  DINING  ROOM  AND  ALSO  SHOW  HOW 
A    VERY    PLAIN    LIVING    ROOM     MAY    BE    MADE    COMFORTABLE    AND    HOMELIKE. 


23 


A    CEMENT    HOUSE    THAT   SHOWS    THE    DECORA 
TIVE  USE  OF  CONCRETE  AS  A   FRAMEWORK 


Published  m  The  Craftsman,  January,  igo~. 
EXTERIOR   VIEW".       NOTE    EFFECT    OF   RAISED    FRAMEWORK    OF    CONCRETE    AGAINST   ROUGH-CAST    PANELS. 


ONE  or  the  other  of  the  more  massive 
forms  of  construction  seems  to  be 
called  for  by  the  design  of  this 
house,  which  was  meant  to  be  built 
either  of  concrete  or  of  hollow  cement  blocks, 
and  so  is  planned  especially  with  a  view  to 
the  use  of  one  or  the  other  of  these  materials, 
although    the    design    would    be    equally    well 


suited  to  stone  or  brick.  Believing  that  a 
house  built  of  cement  or '  oircrete  should  be 
exceedingly  simple  in  d  sign,  with  plain 
straight  lines  and  unbrokei.  wall  surfaces,  we 
have  carried  out  this  idea  as  consistently  as 
possible. 

No  timbers  are  used  on  the  outside  of  the 
house,    but    the    form    of    the    framework    is 


n 


A  CEMENT   HOUSE  Fit  AM  El)  IN  SMOOTH  CONCRETE 


revealed  in  the  heavy  corner- 
posts,     uprights     and     horizontal 

bands  nf  Mm  Kith  concrete  which 
.span  the  walls  and  break  up  the 
broad  plain  surfaces.  As  the 
walls  are  given  a  rough  pebble- 
dash  finish,  this  framework  of 
smooth  concrete,  which  projects 
slightly  from  the  surface  of  the 
wall  proper,  gives  a  contrasting 
effect  w'hich  adds  much  to  the 
interest  of  the  design  The  con- 
crete may  either  be  left  in  the 
natural  gray,  or  the  coldness  of 
this  tint  may  be  modified  by  an 
admixture  of  coloring  which  will 
give  it  a  tone  of  deeper  gray,  a 
suggestion  of  green,  or  one  of  the 
butt  or  biscuit  shf.  J,  according 
to  the  color  effect  the.  fharmonizes 
best  with  the  surro  pdings.  If 
the  house  should  lie  1  Lilt  of  stone 
or  brick,  the  colo  \  effect,  of 
course,  would  be  mi  h  more  de- 
cided. 

The  roof  is  of  s.  tte — not  the 
smooth,  thin,  lozengefshaped  slates  with  which 
we  are  so  familiar,  btit  a  much  more  interest- 
ing form  of  this  <  Arable  roofing  material. 
The  slates  we  have  lii  mind  are  large  and  as 
rough  on  surface  aral  edge  as  split  paving- 
stones.  They  come  ill  very  interesting  colors, 
dull  red  and  slate-ccior  with  green  and  pur- 
plish tones  which  a  >  much  like  the  varied 
colorings  found  in  sfibne.  If  red  slate  should 
be  chosen  for  the  r  >f,  a  pleasant  repetition 
of  the  color  could  Ik  ibtained  by  flooring  the 
verandas  with  squar  cement  blocks  of  a  dull 
brick  red,  which  gr  the  same  effect  as  the 
much  more  expensive  Welsh  tiles. 

Ample  provision  ij  made  in  this  house  for 
the  healthful  outdoo  living  that  is  now  re- 
garded as  so  necessa  y.  A  wide  veranda  ex- 
tends across  the  enti  e  front  and  at  the  back 
is  a  large  square  recessed  porch  that  looks 
out  over  the  garden  at  the  rear  of  the  house 
and  is  used  as  an  outdoor  living  room  where 
meals  can  be  served  if  desired.  This  porch  is 
exposed  to  the  weat'  er  on  one  side  only  and 
this  can  easily  be  g  ^ssed  in  for  the  severest 
days  of  winter.  With  a  southern  exposure, 
though,  it  might  be  open  nearly  all  winter, 
except  on  inclement  days,  for  a  sun  room  is 
pleasant  when  a  room  completely  walled  in 
is    chilly    and    gloomy    and    in    this    case    the 


riP-ST  -  STOHV-rLOOK-PLAH  - 


warmth  of  the  sun  would  be  supplemented  by 
the  comfort  of  the  open  fire,  for  the  veranda 
is  provided  with  an  outdoor  fireplace  big 
enough  to  hold  a  pile  of  good  sized  logs. 
As  this  veranda  has  so  much  the  character  of 
a  living  room,  the  walls  are  treated  in  a  way 
that  connects  it  closely  with  the  interior  of 
the  house.  A  high  wainscot  of  cypress  runs 
around  all  three  sides  and  built-in  fireside 
seats  of  the  same  wood  afford  a  comfortable 
place  for  those  who  are  minded  to  enjoy  the 
fresh  air  and  the  warmth  of  the  blazing  logs 
at  the  same  time.  A  fairly  large  table  placed 
out  here  would  serve  all  requirements  for 
both  living  room  and  dining  room  out  of 
doors,  and  a  few  comfortable  easy  chairs 
would  make  it  a  most  inviting  lounging  place. 
The  red  cement  floor  would  best  be  covered 
by  a  thick  Indian  blanket  or  two,  or  any  rug 
of  sturdv  weave  and  primitive  color  and  de- 
sign. The  wooden  ceiling  of  the  porch  is 
heavily  beamed  and  from  the  beams  hang 
lanterns  enough  to  make  the  place  cheerful 
by  night  as  well  as  by  day.  The  color  of  the 
floor  is  repeated  in  the  massive  fireplace  of 
hard-burned  red  brick  and  the  plain  mantel- 
shelf is  made  of  a  thick  cypress  plank. 

Just   above   the    sun    room    is    an    open-air 
sleeping  room  of  the  same  size  and  general 


A   CEMENT   HOUSE   FRAMED   IN   SMOOTH   CONCRETE 


LIVING    ROOM,    SHOWING     FIREPLACE    AND     BUILT-IN     BOOKCASES     WITH     PANELS     ABOVE.       THE     USE     OF     SPINDLES 
APPEARS    IN    THE    GRILLES    AND    BALUSTRADE    AND    THE    IDEA    IS    FURTHER    DEVELOPED    IN    THE    FURNITURE. 


arrangement,  except  that  it  has  no  fireplace. 
On  this  upper  porch  the  balustrade  is  replaced 
by  a  solid  parapet  made  of  the  wall  of  the 
house.  Like  the  sun  room,  this  sleeping  porch 
can  be  glassed  in  when  necessary  for  protection 
from  driving  storms.  But  under  ordinary 
circumstances  no  protection  from  the  weather 
is  needed  even  in  winter,  as  nothing  is  bet- 
ter for  the  average  housed-up  human  being 
than  sleeping  out  of  doors  under  plenty  of 
covers. 

The  plan  of  the  interior  is  an  excellent  ex- 
ample of  the  Craftsman  method  of  arranging 
\he  divisions  so  as  to  secure  at  once  the  great- 
est possible  amount  of  space,  freedom  and 
convenience  within  a  given  area  and  al?o  to 
keep  the  construction  as  inexpensive  as  pos- 
sible. The  only  fireplace  is  in  the  living  room 
and  is  so  placed  that  it  may  use  the  same 
chimney   as    the   veranda   fireplace.      The   ar- 


rangement of  the  rooms,  however,  is  so  open 
that  both  dining  room  and  reception  hall  share 
the  benefit  of  the  fireplace.  Draughts  from 
the  entrance  are  cut  off  by  a  small  vestibule 
which  opens  into  the  reception  hall  and  the 
space  beside  it  is  occupied  by  a  coat  closet 
which  receives  wraps,  overshoes  and  all  those 
articles  which  are  such  a  problem  to  dispose 
of  in  a  hall  that  is  part  of  the  living  room. 

Ceiling  beams  are  used  only  to  indicate  the 
divisions  into  rooms,  but  around  the  ceiling 
angle  runs  a  broad  beam  and  all  three  rooms 
are  wainscoted  to  the  height  of  six  feet  with 
oak  paneling.  We  have  suggested  oak  for 
the  interior  woodwork  in  this  house,  as  the 
effect  of  it  is  both  rich  and  restful  and  the 
color  mellows  with  every  passing  year.  Our 
idea  would  be  to  finish  it  in  a  rich  nut-brown 
tone,  which  has  much  to  do  with  giving  a 
mellow  sunny  effect  to  the   whole  decorative 


36 


A   CEMENT   HOUSE    FRAMED   IN   SMOOTH    CONCRETE 


scheme,  for  color  goes  far  toward  creating 
the  cheery  atmosphere  that  rightly  belongs  to 
a  home.  The  rough  plaster  of  the  shallow 
wall  spaces  above  the  wainscot  might  be  done 
in  a  warm  tawny  yellow  and  the  whole  deco- 
rative scheme  developed  from  this  founda- 
tion of  walls  and  woodwork. 

The  structural  feature  that  is  most  promi- 
nent in  the  living  room  is  the  fireplace,  with 
the  bookcase  built  in  on  either  side.  These 
bookcases  are  about  four  feet  in  height,  so  that 
the  upper  panels  of  the  wainscot  show  above 
them.  One  decorative  structural  feature  that 
is  seen  in  all  these  rooms  is  the  use  of  spindles 
wherever  they  would  be  effective.  They  ap- 
pear in  the  balustrade  of  the  staircase,  in  the 
open  spaces  above  the  panels,  in  the  little  par- 
titions, in  the  continuation  of  these  into  grilles 


above  the  doors,  in  the  built-in  seats  and  even 
in  the  furniure. 

On  the-  second  story  there  are  three  large 
bedrooms  in  the  front  of  the  house  and  the 
open-air  bedroom  at  the  back.  The  staircase 
with  its  well  occupies  the  space  at  one  side 
of  the  sleeping  porch,  and  the  bath  room  is 
at  the  other.  The  upper  hall,  though  not 
large,  is  so  designed  as  to  give  a  feeling  of 
open  arrangement  and  free  communication, 
and  the  closets  are  concentrated  at  the  cen- 
ter, where  they  are  easy  of  access  and  do  not 
interfere  with  the  space  required  for  the 
sleeping  rooms.  The  plan  of  this  house,  as 
well  as  its  decoration  and  interior  arrange- 
ment, admit  of  very  free  interpretation  and 
may  be  modified  greatly  to  meet  personal 
tastes  and  requirements. 


VERANDA    THAT    IS    FITTED    UP    AS    A    LIVING    ROOM,    SHOWING    OUTDOOR    FIREPLACE.    WAINSCOTING.    BUILT-IN    SEATS 
AND    USE    OF    LANTERNS,    WITH    SUGGESTIONS    FOR    SUITABLE    FURNISHINGS. 

->7 


CEMENT   HOUSE  SHOWING   LAVISH  USE  OF  HALF 
TIMBER   AS   A   DECORATION 


Published  in    The    Craftsman,    January,    IQ09. 
CRAFTSMAN     HOUSE    AT    NASSAU,    LONC    ISLAND. 


NOTE    THE    EFFECT   OF    SLOPING   FOUNDATION    AND    PARAPETS. 


THE  house  illustrated  on  this  page  was 
not  only  designed  in  The  Craftsman 
Workshops,  but  built  largely  under 
our  own  supervision,  so  that  Crafts- 
man ideas  as  to  plan  and  construction  have 
been  carried  out  with  only  such  modifications 
as  were  suggested  by  the  individual  tastes  and 
needs  of  the  owner.  It  is  definitely  a  sub- 
urban residence  and  its  site  is  as  desirable  as 
it  well  could  be  for  the  home  of  a  man  who 
wishes  to  have  plenty  of  space  and  freedom 
in  his  surroundings  and  yet  be  within  con- 
venient reach  of  the  city.  The  owner,  a  New 
York  business  man,  is  keenly  desirous  of  mak- 
ing the  part  of  Long  Island  which  he  has 
chosen  for  his  home  one  of  the  most  delightful 
places  within  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 
New  York:  thus  his  interest  has  not  been 
limited  merely  to  the  building  of  a  desirable 
house,  but  has  extended  to  the  planning  of  its 
surroundings  so  that  the  place  shall  be  beau- 
tiful as  a  whole. 

The  site  is  large  enough  to  allow  for  ex- 
tensive grounds,  which  are  being  laid  out  with 
direct  reference  to  the  plan  of  the  house. 
There  is  a  slope  of  about  fifteen  feet  from 
the  rear  of  the  lot  down  to  the  front.  This 
slope  is  terraced  at  the  highest  part  and  the 
house  is  built  well  to  the  rear,  allowing  for  a 
large  lawn  and  shrubbery  in  front.  The  ter- 
race at  the  back  is  used  for  a  vegetable  garden 


and  the  rest  of  the  lot  is  left  so  far  as  is  pos- 
sible in  its  natural  shape. 

The  rising  ground  upon  which  the  house  is 
situated  affords  an  extensive  view  over  the 
hills  and  meadows  of  Long  Island.  The  house 
faces  directly  southeast  and  at  the  west  end  is 
a  terrace,  covered  with  a  pergola,  which  com- 
mands a  view  of  the  main  road, — a  busy  thor- 
oughfare that  is  usually  thronged  with  car- 
riages and  automobiles.  At  the  opposite  end 
of  the  house  is  a  porch  which  looks  directly 
toward  the  neighboring  golf  links.  This  porch 
is  connected  with  the  dining  room  by  double 
French  doors  so  that  in  summer  it  can  be 
used  as  an  outdoor  dining  room,  especially  as 
it  will  be  protected  all  around  with  screens. 
In  winter  the  screens  will  be  replaced  with 
glass,  so  that  the  porch  may  be  used  as  a  sun 
room  or  as  a  breakfast  room  on  mild  days. 
The  small  front  porch  serves  to  shelter  the 
entrance. 

These  porches  and  the  pergola  greatly  re- 
lieve the  severity  of  the  plan.  As  the  house 
is  built  of  cement,  the  construction  naturally 
calls  for  straight  lines  and  massive  effects ; 
but  while  these  are  preserved  in  their  entirety, 
all  sense  of  coldness  or  bareness  is  avoided  by 
the  liberal  use  of  half-timber  and  by  such 
structural  features  as  we  have  just  described. 
The  floors  of  the  pergola,  the  entrance  porch, 
the  dining  porch,  and  the  small  kitchen  porch 


28 


CEMENT    HOUSE    WITH    HALF-TIMBER    DECORATION 


at  the  rear  of  the  house  are  all  of  dull  red 
cement  divided  into  squares  so  that  they  have 
more  the  appearance  of  Welsh  quarries.  All 
the  exterior  woodwork  is  cypress  darkened  to 
a  warm  tone  of  brown  by  the  chemical  process 
which  is  described  fully  in  the  chapter  dealing 
with  wood  finishes. 

Long  shallow  dormers  on  either  side  of  the 
house  serve  to  break  the  straight  lines  of 
the    roof.     The    roof    itself    has    widely 
overhanging   eaves    supported   on    heavy 


square  timbers  which 
project  slightly  and  the 
whole  upper  story  over- 
hangs at  the  ends  of  the 
house,  the  weight  being  supported  upon  the 
projecting  timbers.  The  line  of  demarcation 
between  the  upper  and  lower  stories  is  em- 
phasized by  a  wide  timber  which  runs  com- 
pletely around  the  house.  Above  this  are 
the  smaller  timbers  which  divide  the  cement 
wall  into  panels. 

As  the  house  is  intended  for  a  small  family 
of   three,   with   office   accommodation    for  the 

owner,  the  interior  arrange- 
ment   is    very    simple.     The 

entrance  door  leads  directly 

into  a  central  hall  that  opens 

into  the  dining  room  on  one 

side  and  into  the  living  room 

on  the  other,  both  openings 

being  so  wide  that  there  is 

hardly  any  sense  of  division. 

The  staircase  is  at  the  back 

of   the   hall,    where   a    small 

coat  closet  is  provided  in  a 

little    nook     taken     off    the 

space    allowed    for   the   but- 
ler's pantry. 

Both  living  room  and  din- 


ing room   arc  closely   connected    with  out  of 
doors;  the  dining  room,  as   we  have  already 
said,  opening  upon  the  screened  porch  and  the 
living  room  upon  the  pergola.     Just  back  of 
the  living  room  is  the  den,  which  is  the  owner's 
special     retreat     and     work-room.      For     this 
reason,  double  doors  divide  it  from  the  living 
room  instead  of  the  usual  broad  opening.    The 
big  fireplace  in  the  living  room 
is   so   placed   that    the   cheery 
glow  of  the  fire  is  seen   from 
both  the  hall  and   the  dining 
room,  as  it  forms  one  end  of 
a    vista    which    goes    straight 
through   to  the   dining  porch. 
The  built-in  bookcase  fills  the 
space    between    this    fireplace 
and    the    corner    on 
one  side,  and  on  the 
other     side     is     the 
door  leading  to   the 
pergola.     The  entire 
front   of   the    dining 
room     is    taken    up 
with  a  built-in  side- 
board,     flanked     on 
either     side     by     a 
china  closet.    Direct- 
ly    over     this     side- 
board is  the   group  of   three   windows  which 
lights  the  dining  room  from  the  southeast. 

The  woodwork  in  the  hall,  living  room  and 
dining  room  is  all  of  chestnut,  fumed  to  a  rich 
brown  tone  and  given  the  soft  dull  finish  that 
makes  the  surface  appear  fairly  to  radiate 
color.  The  fact  that  the  woodwork  is  alike 
throughout  these  three  rooms  emphasizes  the 
close  connection  between  them  and  makes  them 
appear  almost  like  different  parts  of  one  room 
that  is  furnished  harmoniously  throughout. 


SECOND   FLOOR   PLAN. 


29 


CEMENT   HOUSE    SHOWING    CRAFTSMAN   IDEA   OF 
HALF-TIMBER  CONSTRUCTION 


Published   in    The   Craftsman,   August,   190b. 
EXTERIOR  VIEW    SHOWING    STRUCTURAL    USE   OF  TIMBERS    AND   THE    WAY    WINDOWS    ARE    BANDED    TOGETHER. 

A  house  that  typifies  to  rather  an  unusual  recesses    or   projections    on    the    outside,    the 

degree    the    Craftsman    idea    of    con-  attractiveness   of   the   exterior   depending  en- 

struction  is  shown  here.     It  is  a  per-  tirely    upon    the    proportions    of    mass    and 

feet  square  in  plan   and   is   designed  spacing.     It  is  a  building  which  should  attain 

with  the  utmost  simplicity.    There  are  no  bays,  the  maximum  of   durability   for  cement  con- 

30 


CEMENT  HOUSE  SHOWING  I-IALF-TIMJiEK  CONSTRUCTION 


FIRST   STORY    FLOOR    PLAN. 


struction,  as  there  is  nothing  to 
invite  decay  or  render  repairs 
necessary. 

The  walls  are  built  of  cemenl 
plaster  and  metal  lath,  the  half- 
timber  construction  being  used 
to  break  up  the  severely  plain 
wall  spaces  into  panels  that  are 
more  agreeable  to  the  eye.  As 
originally  designed  the  rough- 
finished  cement  was  left  in  its 
natural  gray  color  and  the  roof  of 
white  cedar  shingles  was  merely 
oiled  and  left  to  weather  to  a  har- 
monizing tone  of  silvery  gray.  The  necessary  color  accent  as  well 
as  the  emphasis  of  form  is  given  by  the  wood  trim,  which  should 
be  of  cypress  so  treated  that  the  brown  color  of  the  wood  is  fully 
brought  out.  The  rafters  of  the  porch  as  well  as  those  supporting 
the  widely  overhanging  roof  are  left  uncased,  carrying  out  the 
effect  of  solid  construction  which  distinguishes  the  entire 
building  and  emphasizing  the   decorative   use  made  of  wood. 


BCD  KCDft 

1 

i ,,_ 

OCO  ^<m-» 

SECOND    STORY    FLOOR    PLAN. 


CORNER  OF  LIVING  ROOM  SHOWING  FIREPLACE  SET  FLUSH  WITH  THE  WALL  AND  HAVING  PANEL  OF  DULL  FINISHED 
PICTURE  TILE.  NOTE  THE  DECORATIVE  EFFECT  OF  OPENINGS  IN  THE  SPINDLE  GRILLE  WHICH  APPEARS  IN  THE 
HALL,    ALSO    THE    PLACING    OF    THE    SEAT    AND   THE    ARRANGEMENT    OF    THE    STAIRCASE. 


31 


A   COMFORTABLE   AND    CONVENIENT    HOUSE   FOR 
THE  SUBURBS  OR  THE  COUNTRY 


&* 


Published   in   The  Craftsman,   May,   1907. 

VIEW   OF  THE  FRONT,  GIVING   A  GOOD   IDEA  OF  THE  EFFECT    OF    BRICK    AND    CEMENT    WALLS    WITH    TILED    Roof. 


BELIEVING  as  we  do  that  the  happiest 
and  healthiest  life  is  that  in  the  country, 
we  take  especial  pleasure  in  designing 
houses  that  are  definitely  meant  to  be 
surrounded  by  large  grounds  that  slope  off  into 
the  fields,  meadows  and  orchards  all  around. 
Such  a  house  has  always  the  effect  of  taking 
all  the  room  it  needs,  and  this  will  be  found 
important  when  we  come  to  analyze  the 
elements  that  go  toward  making  the  restful 
charm  of  a  home.  The  sense  of  privacy  and 
freedom  from  intrusion  that  is  conveyed  by 
English  homes  with  their  ample  gardens  and 
buildings  placed  well  back  from  the  street  is 
a  quality  which  we  badly  need  in  our  Amer- 
ican home  life  as  a  relief  from  the  rush  and 
crowding  outside. 

Although  the  form  of  this  house  is  straight 
and  square,  its  rather  low.  broad  proportions 
and  the  contrasting  materials  used  in  its  con- 
struction take  away  all  sense  of  severity.  The 
walls  of  the  lower  story  and  the  chimneys  are 
of  hard-burned  red  brick  and  the  upper  walls 
are  of  Portland  cement  plaster  with  half- 
timber   construction.      The    foundation,    steps 


and  porch  parapets  are  of  split  stone  laid  up 
in  dark  cement  and  the  roof  is  tiled.  Of 
course,  this  is  only  a  suggestion  for  materials, 
as  the  house  would  be  equally  well  adapted  to 
almost  any  form  of  construction,  from  stone 
to  shingles.  The  coloring  also  may  be  made 
rich  and  warm  or  cool  and  subdued,  as  de- 
manded by  the  surroundings.  One  feature 
that  is  especially  in  accordance  with  Crafts- 
man ideas  is  the  way  in  which  the  half-timbers 
on  the  upper  story  are  used.  While  we  like 
half-timber  construction,  it  is  an  article  of 
faith  with  us  that  it  should  be  made  entirely 
"probable"  ;  that  is,  that  the  timbers  should  be 
so  placed  that  they  might  easily  belong  to  the 
real  construction  of  the  house.  In  a  building' 
that  is  entirely  designed  by  ourselves  we 
adhere  very  strictly  to  this  rule,  varying  it 
only  when  the  taste  of  the  owner  requires  a 
more  elaborate  use  of  timbers,  such  as  is 
shown  in  the  house  illustrated  on  page  28. 
Another  feature  of  typical  Craftsman  con- 
struction is  well  illustrated  in  the  windows 
used  in  this  house.  It  will  be  noted  that  they 
are  double-hung  in  places  where  they  are  ex- 


32 


A  COMFORTABLE  AND  CONVENIENT  SUBURBAN  HOUSE 


posed  to  the  weather  and  that  casements  are 
used  when  it  is  possible  to  hood  them  or  1" 
place  them  where  they  will  be  sheltered  by 
the  roof  of  the  porch. 

The  arrangement  of  the  interior  of  this 
house  is  simplicity  itself,  as  the  living  room  and 
dining  room,  which  have  merely  the  sugges- 
tion of  a  dividing  partition,  occupy  the  whole 
of  one  side.  The  arrangement  of  kitchen,  hall 
and  staircase  on  the  other  side  of  the  house  is 
equally  practical  and  convenient,  as  it  utilizes 
every  inch  of  space  and  provides  many  con- 
veniences to  lighten  the  work  of  the  house- 
keeper. 

The  entrance  door  opens  into  a  small  vesti- 
bule that  serves  to  shut  off  draughts  from  the 
hall,  especially  as  the  entrance  from  the  vesti- 
bule to  the  hall  is  at  right  angles  to  the  front 
door  instead  of  being  directly  opposite,  mak- 


D  ITS  I  IN  G 'ROOM 

19'ovko-a" 


nv  11s  q-Koor^i 


5E.AT 
■        ■ 


FIRST  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 


SECOND  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 

ing  the  danger  from  draughts  so  small  that 
this  opening  might  easily  be  curtained  and  a 
second  door  dispensed  with.  The  broad  land- 
ing of  the  staircase  is  opposite  this  opening 
from  the  vestibule  and  in  the  angle  where  the 
stair  runs  up  a  large  hall  seat  is  built.  The 
vestibule  jutting  into  the  living  room  leaves  a 
deep  recess  at  the  front,  in  which  is  built  a 
long  window  seat  just  below  the  triple  group 
of  casements  that  appears  at  the  front  of  the 
house.  The  fireplace  is  in  the  center  of  the 
room  just  opposite  the  hall,  and  another  fire- 
place in  the  dining  room  adds  to  the  comfort 
and  cheer. 

In  a  recess  in  the  dining  room  somewhat 
similar  to  that  at  the  front  of  the  living  room 
the  sideboard  is  built  in  so  that  the  front  of  it 
is  flush  with  the  wall  and  three  casement  win- 
dows are  set  just  above  it.  The  china  cup- 
boards built  in  on  the  opposite  side  are  shown 
in  two  ways  in  the  plan  and  illustration.  In 
one  the  cupboard  is  built  straight  with  the 
wall  and  in  the  other  across  the  corner.  Either 
way  would  be  effective  and  the  choice  depends 
simply  upon  personal  preference  and  con- 
venience. 

The  tone  of  the  woodwork  would  depend 
largely  upon  the  position  of  the  house  and 
consequent   exposure  of  the   rooms.     If   they 


33 


A  COMFORTABLE  AND  CONVENIENT  SUBURBAN   HOUSE 


DETAIL    OF    ENTRANCE    PORCH    SHOWING    HEAVY    ROUND    PILLARS, 
THE    ROOF,    AND   THE    USE   OF    FLOWER    BOXES. 


DECORATIVE    USE    OF    REVEALED    COXSTRUCTION"    IX 


are  bright  and  sunny  nothing  could  be  better 
than  the  rich  nut-brown  of  oak  or  chestnut 
with  its  strong  sugggestion  of  green,  as  this 
gives  a  somewhat  grave  and  subdued  effect 
that  yet  wakes  into  life  in  a  sunshiny  room 
and  shows  the  play  of  double  tones  of  green 
and  brown  under  a  sheen  that  makes  them 
■seem  almost  luminous.    If  the  rooms  are  fairly 


well  shaded  so  that  the  effect  of  warmth 
would  be  desirable  in  the  color,  the  woodwork 
might  be  of  cypress,  as  its  strong  markings 
take  on  deep  shades  in  the  softer  parts  and 
beautiful  autumn  tints  in  the  grain  when 
treated  by  the  Craftsman  process  that  em- 
phasizes so  strongly  the  natural  quality  of  the 
wood  and  brings  out  all  its  color. 


34 


A  COMFORTABLE  AND  CONVENIENT  SUBURBAN  HOUSE 


v 


CORNER     OF     PINING     ROOM     SHOWING     TILED     CHIMNEYPIECE    WITH    COPPER    HOOD;    BUILT-IN    CUPBOARD    AND    THE 
GROUPING    OF   WINDOWS    AT   THE    SIDE. 


LIVING    ROOM    WITH    HALL    BEYOND,    SHOWING    TYPICAL    (RAFTSMAN    DIVISION  BETWEEN   THE  TWO  ROOMS   BY    MEANS 
OF    HEAVY    SQUARE    POSTS    AND    PANELS    OPEN     AT    THE    TOP. 

35 


A  CRAFTSMAN  CITY  HOUSE  DESIGNED  TO  ACCOM 
MODATE  TWO   FAMILIES 


Published   in   The  Craftsman,  October,   1907. 

VIEW    OF    FRONT   AND    SIDE,   INDICATING   THE   SIMILARITY    IN   ARRANGEMENT   OF   UPPER   AND   LOWER   FLOORS. 


SOME  little  time  ago  a  problem  was 
brought  to  us  which  proved  interesting, 
not  only  in  itself  but  on  account  of  its 
application  to  a  condition  which  in  city 
life  is  almost  universal.  It  was  this:  A  man 
living  in  Brooklyn,  who  owned  a  lot  thirty 
feet  wide  by  a  hundred  feet  deep,  desired  to 
build  within  this  space  a  Craftsman  house 
which  should  not  only  show  a  departure  from 
the  usual  design  of  the  city  house  in  such 
matters  as  economy  of  space,  arrangement  of 
rooms,  and  interesting  structural  features  that 
would  serve  as  a  basis  for  interior  decorations 
and  furnishing,  but  would  accommodate  two 
families  who  desired  to  live  independently  of 
one  another,  as  they  would  in  separate  houses. 
It  had  often  been  brought  to  our  attention 
by  people  living  in  cities  that  most  of  our 
plans  were  for  detached  dwellings  in  the 
country    or    the    suburbs,    where    the    houses 


could  have  the  environment  of  ample  grounds 
and  be  given  all  the  room  necessary  to  carry 
out  any  idea  of  arrangement  that  might  seem 
desirable.  This  method  of  living  in  the  open 
with  plenty  of  room  and  green  growing  things 
all  around  has  always  been  so  much  more  in 
accordance  with  the  Craftsman  idea  of  a  home 
environment  than  any  house  cramped  to  fit 
the  dimensions  of  a  city  lot,  that  our  sugges- 
tions for  house  building  have  as  a  rule  nat- 
urally taken  the  form  of  dwellings  best  fitted 
for  the  country.  The  number  and  frequency, 
however,  of  the  requests  which  have  come  to 
us  from  time  to  time  for  city  houses  made  the 
problem  shown  here  one  that  we  took  much 
interest  in  working  out. 

As  the  owner  desired  a  detached  house  with 
a  walk  on  either  side  it  was  necessary  to  bring 
the  dimensions  of  our  plan  within  a  very 
narrow  space.     Accordingly  the  width  of  the 


3fi 


A  CRAFTSMAN  CITY  HOUSE  DESIGNED  FOR  TWO  FAMILIES 


house  was  tixcd  at  twenty-five  feet,  with  a 
depth  of  sixty-eight  feet,  including  a  front 
porch  nine  feet  in  width.  The  first  story  is 
occupied  by  a  tenant,  the  owner  reserving  the 
second   floor    for   himself   and    his    family. 

Tt  will  be  noticed  by  looking  carefully  at 
the  floor  plans  that  only  the  front  porch,  the 
vestibule  and  the  rear  entrance  can  be  used 
in  common  by  both  families.  There  is  no  con- 
nection between  the  two  apartments.  One 
door  from  the  vestibule  opens  to  the  stairway 
which  leads  to  the  second  story  and  the  other 
opens  into  the  hall  of  the  first  story.  Both 
stories  are  the  same  in  arrangement  and  are 
planned  to  secure  the  greatest  possible  open- 


IK  3T-FL  OOR-PLAn 


SECOND    FLUOR    PLAN. 

ness  and  freedom  of  space  in  the  living  rooms. 
The  large  bedrooms  at  the  back  of  the  house 
open  upon  rear  porches,  which  are  glassed  in 
for  the  winter  and  screened  in  summer  to 
serve  as  outdoor  sleeping  rooms. 

The  floor  plans  themselves  give  the  best 
idea  of  the  arrangement  of  space  in  the  apart- 
ments. Both  kitchens  are  provided  with  gas 
stoves  and  individual  boilers  for  hot  water. 
A  dumbwaiter  runs  from  the  cellar  to  the 
attic  for  the  convenience  of  the  upper  apart- 
ment. The  cellar  contains  individual  store 
rooms  and  coal  bins,  and  a  big  laundry  with 
a  set  of  three  tubs  and  a  stove  was  installed, 
together  with  a  hot  water  heating  system  for 
the  entire  house.  The  attic  is  divided  in  a  way 
that  provides  two  rooms  in  the  dormer  for  the 
servants  of  both  apartments,  as  well  as  a  large 
room  facing  the  front  that  can  be  used  as  a 
dry  room  in  inclement  weather  or  as  a  play- 
room for  children.  The  cellar  walls  are  of 
concrete  faced  with  split  field  stone. 


37 


A  CRAFTSMAN  FARM    HOUSE  THAT   IS  COMFORT 
ABLE,    HOMELIKE  AND   BEAUTIFUL 


'  *-^<:r 


<s& 


z,4£*f~l 


Published  in   The   Craftsman.  June,  1906. 

VIEW    FROM    THE    FRONT,    SHOWING    DORMER.    GABLE    AND    RECESSED    PORCH.       NOTE    THE    EFFECT    OF    THE    BROAD    LOW 
PROPORTIONS,   THE   GROUPING    OF    WINDOWS    AND   THE    DECORATIVE    USE    OF   TIMBERS. 


38 


A  HOMELIKE  AND  BEAUTIFUL  CRAFTSMAN  FARMHOUSE 


IF  there  is  any  one  style  of  house 
that  we  enjoy  planning  more  than 
others,  it  is  a  farmhouse, — a  home 
that  shall  meet  every  practical  re- 
quirement of  life  and  work  on  the 
farm,  and  yet  be  beautiful,  comfort- 
able and  homelike.  This  is  our  first 
farmhouse  and  we  endeavored  to  make 
it  characteristic  in  design,  plan,  deco- 
ration and  the  materials  used  for 
building.  As  a  rule,  we  do  not  advo- 
cate the  use  of  clapboards  for  sheath- 
ing the  walls  of  a  frame  house,  for  the 
reason  that  the  small,  thin,  smoothly 
planed  and  painted  boards  generally 
used  for  this  purpose  give  a  flimsy, 
unsubstantial  effect  to  the  structure 
and  a  characterless  surface  to  the 
walls.  However,  clapboards  are  often 
preferred,  especially  in  building  a 
farmhouse,  and  it  is  quite  possible  to 
use  them  so  that  these  objections  may 
be  removed.  In  this  building  the  clap- 
boards are  unusually  broad  and  thick, 
giving  to  the  walls  a  sturdy  appear- 


SECOND    FLOOR    PLAN. 


FIRST   FLOOR   PLAN. 


ance  of  permanence.  They  may  be 
of  pine,  cedar,  or  cypress,  and  may 
be  stained  or  painted  according  to- 
individual  taste  and  the  character  of 
the  environment.  If  the  house  is  to- 
be  rather  dark  and  quiet  in  color, 
the  boards  might  be  given  a  thin 
stain  of  moss  green  or  brown ;  or  a 
delightful  color  effect  may  be  ob- 
tained by  going  over  the  boards  with 
a  wash  of  much  diluted  sulphuric 
acid.  With  either  one  of  these 
colors  a  good  effect  would  be  ob- 
tained by  painting  the  timbers  of 
the  framework  a  light  cream  so  that 
the  structural  features  are  strongly 
accented. 

We  regard  this  house  as  having 
in  a  marked  degree  the  comfort- 
able and  inviting  appearance  which 
seems  so  essentially  to  belong  to 
a  home, — particularly  to  a  farm 
home.  It  is  wide  and  low,  with 
rather  a  shallow  pitch  to  the  broad 
roof,  the  line  of  which  is  unbroken 
by  the  large  dormers  set  at  different 


39 


A  HOMELIKE  AND  BEAUTIFUL  CRAFTSMAN  FARMHOUSE 


CORNER  OF  LIVING  ROOM,  SHOWING  TREATMENT  OF  WALL  SPACES  BY  A  VERY  SIMPLE  USE  OF  THE  WOODWORK,  WHICH 
IS  USED  TO  GIVE  THE  EFFECT  OF  A  BROAD,  TLAIN  FRIEZE.  NOTE  THE  MANNER  IN  WHICH  THE  WINDOW  AND  DOOR 
FRAMINGS   ARE   RELATED  TO   THE    LOWER   BEAM   OF   THIS    FRIEZE. 


heights.  The  entrance  porch,  which  is  of 
ample  size,  is  recessed  to  its  full  width.  The 
timbers  which  accent  the  construction  give 
special  interest  to  the  interior,  as  they  are  so 
placed  as  to  add  to  the  apparent  width  of  the 
house,  and  are  arranged  so  as  to  avoid,  by 
means  of  the  prominent  horizontal  lines  of  the 
teams,  any  possible  "spotty"  effect  which 
might  result  if  the  vertical  lines  of  the  frame- 
work were  not  so  relieved.  This  device  is 
•especially  apparent  in  the  grouping  of  the 
three  windows  which  light  the  gable.  The 
plan  of  the  house  makes  it  necessary  that  these 
he  rather  far  apart,  but  they  are  built  together 
hy  the  beams  so  as  to  form  a  symmetrical 
group  rather  than  to  give  the  impression  of 


three  separate  windows  in  a  broad  wall  space. 
The  same  effect  is  preserved  throughout  the 
lower  story  by  the  massive  beam  which  extends 
the  entire  width  of  the  house,  not  only  de- 
fining the  height  of  the  lower  story  but 
serving  as  a  strong  connecting  line  for 
the  window  and  door  framings  which  all 
spring  from  the  foundation  to  the  height 
of  this  beam. 

A  small  vestibule,  which  serves  to  cut.  off 
draughts  that  might  come  from  the  entrance 
door,  opens  into  the  central  hall  which  forms 
a  connecting  link  between  the  living  room  on 
one  side  and  the  library  and  dining  room  on 
the  other.  The  staircase,  which  is  opposite 
the  entrance,  is  placed  well  toward  the  back 


-10 


A  HOMELIKE  AND  MKAl  TIFUE  (RAFTSMAN   FARMHOUSE 


M 


■CORNER  OF   DINING   ROOM    SHOWING    SIDEBOARD  BUILT    INTO    A   RECESS,  WITH  C.ROIP  OF  WINDOWS  AND  DISH  CUPBOARD. 


of  the  house,  giving  as  much  width  as  possible 
to  the  hall.  A  small  coat  closet  occupies  a  few 
feet  of  space  that  has  been  made  available 
between  the  vestibule  and  the  living  room,  so 
that  the  lines  of  both  hall  and  living  room  are 
uninterrupted. 

The  living  room  has  the  advantage  of  every 
ray  of  sunshine  which  strikes  that  side  of  the 


house,  as  it  is  not  sheltered  by  the  porch.  It 
is  quite  a  long  room  in  proportion  to  its  width 
and  the  entire  end  at  the  rear  is  taken  up  by 
the  fireplace  and  the  two  seats  which,  extend- 
ing from  it  at  right  angles,  give  the  effect  of 
a  deeply  recessed  fireside  nook.  A  single  chim- 
ney is  made  to  do  service  for  the  entire  house, 
as  it  is  arranged  to  accommodate  three  flues. 


n 


HOUSE  WITH  COURT,  PERGOLAS,  OUTDOOR  LIVING 
ROOMS  AND  SLEEPING  BALCONIES 


Published  in   The  Craftsman,  January,  1909. 


LIFE  in  a  warm  country,  where  there  is 
much  sunshine  and  where  it  is  pos- 
sible to  be  out  of  doors  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  time,  was  specially 
taken  into  consideration  in  the  designing  of 
this  house,  for  the  plan  makes  as  much  ac- 
count of  the  terraces,  porches  and  the  open 
paved  court  as  it  does  of  the  rooms  within 
the  walls  of  the  building.  Such  a  plan  would 
serve  admirably  for  a  dwelling  in  California 
or  in  the  Southern  States,  but  would  be  ad- 
visable only  for  specially  favored  spots  in 
the  North  and  East,  as  its  comfort  and  charm 
necessarily  depend  very  largely  upon  the  pos- 
sibility of  outdoor  life. 

As  originally  planned,  the  walls  of  the 
lower  story  are  to  be  built  of  cement  or  of 
stucco  on  metal  lath.  The  upper  walls  are 
shingled.  The  roof  is  of  red  tile  and  the 
foundation  and  parapets  are  of  field  stone. 
As  with  all  these  houses,  though,  the  mate- 
rials used  are  entirely  optional  and  can  be 
varied  according  to  the  taste  of  the  owner, 
the  requirements  of  the  landscape  or  the 
limitations  of  the  amount  to  be  expended,  as 
the  building  would  look  quite  as  well  if  con- 
structed of  concrete  or  of  brick,  and  with 
clapboards    in    the    place    of    shingles.      If    a 


HOUSE  DESIGNED   FOR  OUTDOOR  LIFE   IN   A   WARM    CLIMATE. 

wooden  house  should  be  preferred,  the  walls 
from  top  to  bottom  could  either  be  shingled 
or  sheathed  with  wide  clapboards,  while  the 
roof  is  equally  well  adapted  to  tiles,  slates  or 
shingles.  The  first  of  the  perspective  draw- 
ings gives  a  view  of  the  whole  house  as  seen 
from  the  rear,  showing  the  pergola  at  the 
back  and  the  design  of  the  roof,  which  we 
consider  specially  attractive.  The  second 
drawing  shows  the  side  of  the  house  instead 
of  the  front,  as  by  taking  this  view  it  is  pos- 
sible to  include  both  porch  and  court  and  also 
show  the  balcony  and  outdoor  sleeping  room 
on  the  upper  story.  A  broad  terrace  runs 
across  the  front  of  the  house  and  continues 
around  the  side,  where  it  forms  a  porch  which 
is  meant  to  be  used  as  an  outdoor  living  room. 
This  porch  is  nearly  square  in  shape  and  is 
either  tiled  with  Welsh  quarries  or.  if  a  less 
expensive  flooring  be  desired,  is  paved  with 
red  cement  marked  off  into  squares  that 
measure  about  nine  inches  each  way.  This 
floor  has  a  close  resemblance  to  one  made 
of  Welsh  quarries  and  is  dry  and  durable. 
In  flooring  a  porch  of  this  kind  it  is  always 
better  to  avoid  the  use  of  plain  brick,  as  this 
porous  material  gathers  and  holds  moisture 
to  such  an  extent  that  the  floor  is  seldom  drv. 


42 


HOUSE  WITH  COURT,  PERGOLAS  AND  OUTDOOR  ROOMS 


The  entrance  door  opens  from  this  porch 
into  the  hall,  which  is  separated  from  the  liv- 
ing room  only  by  two  panels  open  at  the  top 
after  the  usual  Craftsman  fashion,  the  wood 
running  only  a  little  above  the  height  of  the 
two  bookcases,  which  may  either  be  built  in 
or  movable,  as  desired.  Directly  opposite  this 
entrance  is  the  large  fireplace,  which  is  re- 
cessed so  as  to  form  a  fireside  nook.  Seats 
are  placed  on  either  side  and  the  tiled  hearth 
extends  the  full  length  of  these.  Back  of 
them,  in  the  small  recesses  left  on  either  side 
of  the  fireplace,  are  built-in  bookcases  with 
casement  windows  set  above.  A  square  bay 
window,  below  which  is  a  broad  window 
seat,  looks  out  upon  the  terrace,  and  double 
glass  doors  from  both  living  room  and  hall 
bring  this  part  of  the  house  into  very  close 
communication  with  the  outside  world ;  an 
important  feature  in  the  planning  of  a  house 
intended  for  life  in  a  warm  climate  where 
there  is  little  rain. 

The  dining  room  has  every  appear- 
ance of  being  merely  a  large  square 
recess  in  the  living  room,  as  the  di- 
vision between  them  is  only  indicated 
and  the  dining  room  is  just  large 
enough  to  afford  comfortable  accom- 
modation for  a  good-sized  dining  ta- 
ble and  the  necessary  furniture.  The 
sideboard,  which  is  built  in,  occupies 
the  entire  end  of  the  room  and  a  group 
of  three  casement  windows  are  set  in 
the  wall  just  above  it. 

The  floor  plan  shows  the  convenient 
arrangement  of  the  hall,  staircase  and 
closets,  everything  being-  grouped  with- 
in a  small  compass  so  that  not  an  inch 
of  space  is  wasted.  The  arrangement 
of  pantry  and  kitchen  is  equally  conve- 
nient and  plenty  of  cupboard  room  is 
provided  for  dishes  and  the  necessary 
kitchen  utensils. 

The  chimney  that  is  used  for  the 
kitchen  range  has  space  also  for  a 
flue  leading  from  the  fireplace  on  the 
porch  outside.  We  are  greatly  in  fa- 
vor of  these  outdoor  fireplaces,  be- 
cause there  are  many  days  and  even- 
ings when  it  is  almost  warm  enough 
to  stay  out  of  doors,  and  yet  without 
a  fire  it  is  not  quite  comfortable.  Also, 
a  fire  in  the  open  air  has  always  some- 
thing of  the  charm  of  a  camp  fire. 
The   placing  of   this  one   is   peculiarly 


desirable,  as  it  not  only  makes  a  pleasant  sit- 
ting room  of  the  porch,  but  also  has  much  of 
the  charm  of  a  garden,  as  from  the  porch  one 
steps  down  into  the  court,  which  is  surrounded 
on  the  outside  by  a  vine-covered  pergola  and 
which  may  be  paved  or  not,  as  desired.  Even 
when  these  courts  are  paved  they  often  hold 
growing  trees  or  a  fountain,  so  that  both 
shade  and  the  nearness  of  green,  growing 
things  are  possible,  while  the  court  itself  seems 
merely  an  extension  of  the  porch.  The  den, 
which  can  be  closed  off  by  doors  from  the 
rest  of  the  house  in  case  privacy  is  desired 
for  work  or  reading,  has  double  doors  lead- 
ing to  the  square  entrance  porch  and  also  to 
the  court. 

On  the  second  floor  there  are  three  large 
bedrooms,  plenty  of  closet  room  and  three 
baths.  One  of  these  is  for  the  exclusive  use 
of  the  maids  and  opens  from  the  maids'  room 
at   the   hack.      The   other   two   are   placed   so 


¥ 


-ruia'R^cE 


FIRST      FLOOR      PLAN. 


43 


HOUSE  WITH  COURT,  PERGOLAS  AND  OUTDOOR  ROOMS 


CORNER    OF     HOUSE     SHOWING 

that  each  one  is  accessible  from  two 
bedrooms,  counting  the  outdoor  sleep- 
ing room  as  one.  The  linen  and 
clothes  closets  are  so  placed  that  they 
occupy  the  least  possible  amount  of 
space.  The  central  hall  is  more  in 
the  nature  of  a  corridor  running 
around  the  four  sides  of  the  stair- 
case well,  and  at  the  back  is  a  long 
window  seat  built  beneath  a  group  of 
windows  that  look  out  over  the  court 
and  pergola. 

The  matter  of  interior  woodwork 
and  general  scheme  of  color  and  deco- 
ration would  depend  very  largely 
upon  the  part  of  the  country  in  which 
the  house  is  built.  Its  design  is  pri- 
marily that  of  a  California  house  and 
reflects  the  spirit  which  rules  the  new 
architecture  that  is  springing  up  in 
that  country.  Therefore  it  would 
seem  quite  "in  keeping  to  suggest  that 
the  inside  of  the  house  be  finished 
after  the  well-known  California  style, 
because  no  other  would  be  so  com- 
pletely in  harmony  with  the  plan  of 
the  exterior. 

Living  so  much  out  of  doors,  the 
Californians  almost  instinctively  make 
the  transition  between  outdoors  and 
indoors  as  little  marked  as  possible 
by  finishing  the  interior  of  their 
houses   in   the   most   natural   way. 

44 


PERGOLA     AND     SLEEPING    PORCH. 


THE  CRAFTSMAN'S   HOUSE:    A    PRACTICAL   APPLI- 
CATION OF  OUR  THEORIES  OF  HOME  BUILDING 


~**r$&$. 


■  ■'-^ftte- 


\3  Jiwfc 


llpil^^ir: 


nine  r^jprii 


VTTTHILE    all    the    houses    illustrated    in 
%y\/       this  book  are  of  Craftsman  design, 
T    T        the    dwelling    shown    here    is    per- 
haps the  most  complete  example  in 
existence  of  the  Craftsman  idea,  for  the  rea- 
son that  it  is  to  he  built  by  the  founder  and 
editor    of    The    Craftsman    at    "Craftsman 
Farms,"   his  estate   in   New   Jersey,  and   will 
be  used  there  as   his  own  home.     Therefore 


has  found  no  creative  work  more  absorb- 
ingly delightful  than  this  planning  of  a  home 
which  he  intends  to  live  in  for  the  rest  of 
his  life.  In  addition  to  this  it  affords  the 
opportunity  for  working  out  personally,  in 
every  practical  detail,  all  the  theories  which 
have  been  applied  to  the  houses  of  other 
people. 

Craftsman   Farms   was  apparently    planned 


in  this  case  the  tastes  of  the  designer  are  one      by  nature  for  the  site  of  just  such  a  house. 

with  the  tastes  and  needs  of  the  owner,  who      It  has  heavily  wooded  hills,  little  wandering 

brooks,  low-lying  meadows  and 
plenty  of  garden  and  orchard  land ; 
and  the  house  will  be  built  on  a 
natural  terrace  or  plateau  half 
way  up  the  highest  hill.  The 
building  faces  toward  the  south, 
'■farirai  overlooking  the  partially  cleared 
hillside,  which  runs  down  to  the 
orchard  and  meadows  at  the  foot 
and  which  needs  very  little  culti- 
vation to  develop  it  into  a  beauti- 
ful sloping  greensward  with  here 
and  there  a  clump  of  trees  or  a 
mass  of  shrubbery.  There  is  a 
friendliness  about  the  natural  con- 
formation of  the  land  which  makes 
it  seem  homelike  before  one  stone 
is  laid  upon  another  or  one  bit  of 
underbrush  is  cleared  away,  for 
the  combination  of  sheltering  hills 
and  woods  with  a  sheltered  swale 
or    meadowland    eives    interesting: 


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46 


THE   CRAFTSMAN'S   HOUSE 


"*. 


variety  in  the  immediate  surround- 
ing's, while  the  view  of  the  whole 
country  from  the  hilltop  through 
the  gaps  in  the  surrounding  hills 
does  away  with  any  sense  of  being 
shut  in. 

In  designing  the  house,  the  first 
essential  naturally  was  that  it 
should  be  suited  exactly  to  the  re- 
quirements of  the  life  to  be  lived 
in  it ;  the  second,  that  it  should 
harmonize  with  its  environment ; 
and  the  third,  that  it  should  be 
built,  as  far  as  possible,  from  the 
materials  to  be  had  right  there  on  the  ground 
and  left  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  natural 
state.  Therefore  the  foundation  and  lower 
walls  of  the  building  are  of  split  field  stone 
and  boulders  taken  from  the  tumbledown  stone 
fences  and  loose-lying  rocks  on  the  hillsides. 
The  timbers  are  cut  from  chestnut  trees  grow- 
ing on  the  land,  and  the  lines,  proportions  and 
color  of  the  building  are  designed  with  a 
special  view  to  the  contour  of  the  ground  upon 


■  ■ 

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OUT-DOOR 
DINING    ROOM 
24X20 


FIRST   STORY   FLOOR    PLAN. 


DETAIL    OF    LIVING    ROOM    SHOWING    HANO, 
PICTURE    WINDOW    AND    BOOKCASES. 

which  it  stands  and  the  background  of  trees 
which  rises  behind  it. 

The  hillside  site,  affording,  as  it  does,  well 
nigh  perfect  drainage,  makes  it  possible  to 
put  into  effect  a  favorite  Craftsman  theory, — 
that  a  house  should  be  built  without  a  cellar 
and  should,  as  nearly  as  possible,  rest  directly 
on  the  ground  with  no  visible  foundation  to 
separate  it  from  the  soil  and  turf  in  which 
it  should  almost  appear  to  have  taken  root. 
The    house    is    protected    against    dampness 

by  making 
the  excava- 
t  i  o  n  for 
the  founda- 
tion  down 
to  clear 
h  a  r  d  soil, 
filling  it  in 
partly  with 
the  smaller  pieces  of  stone  that  were  re- 
jected from  the  walls  and  placing  on  this  a 
thick  layer  of  broken  stone  leveled  off  with 
an  equally  thick  layer  of  Portland  cement 
and  concrete,  making  it  level  and  smooth 
like  a  pavement.  All  of  this  foundation  is 
drain-tiled  both  inside  and  out.  On  the  top 
of  the  cement  floor  is  a  double  layer  of 
damp-proofing,  which  extends  without  a 
break  up  the  wall,  and  a  thick  layer  of  tar 
and  sand,  in  which  the  floor  timbers  are  bed- 
ded. Another  layer  of  waterproof  paper 
covers  this ;  and  then  comes  the  floor  itself — 
as  completely  protected  from  moisture  as  if 
it  were  on  the  top  story  of  the  building.  The 
heating  plant  and  laundry  are  provided  for 
in  a  separate  building  and  the  stone  storage 


47 


THE    CRAFTSMAN'S    HOUSE 


EMI   OF    LIVING    ROOM,    ILLUSTRATING 
STRUCTURAL    FEATURE    (IF    A    ROOM. 


HOW    THE     STAIRCASE     WITH      ITS 


landing 


MADE     THE      PROMINENT 


vaults    for  vegetables   and  the   like   are   sunk 
into  the  side  of  the  hill. 

No  effort  has  been  made  to  give  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  grade  line,  the  ground  being 
allowed  to  preserve  its  natural  contour 
around  the  stone  walls  of  the  first  story.  The 
upper  walls  are  of  phster  and  half-timber 
construction.  The  plaster  is  given  a  rough 
pebble-dash  finish  and  a  tone  of  chill  brown- 
ish green  brushed  off  afterward  so  that  the 
color  effect  varies  with  the  irregularitv  of  the 


surface.  In  each  one  of  the  large  panels  ul- 
timately picture  tiles  will  be  set,  symbolizing 
the  different  farm  and  village  industries, — 
for  example,  one  will  show  the  blacksmith 
at  his  forge ;  another  a  woman  spinning  flax : 
others  will  depict  the  sower,  the  plowman 
and  such  typical  figures  of  farm  life.  These 
tiles  will  be  very  dull  and  rough  in  finish  and 
colored  with  dark  reds,  greens,  blues,  dull 
yellows  and  other  colors  which  harmonize 
with   the  tints  of  wood   and   stone. 


DETAIL   OF   LIVING    ROOM    SHOWING    FIREPLACE.    DOORS 
INTO    SUN    ROOM    AND    ENTRANCE    TO    VESTIBULE. 


4S 


THE    (RAFTSMAN'S   HOUSE 


SECOND    STORY    FLOOR    PLAN. 

The  timbers  are  not  applied  to  the  outside 
of  the  house  for  the  purpose  of  ornamenta- 
tion, but  are  a  part  of  the  actual  construction, 
which  is  thus  frankly  revealed.  They  are 
peeled  chestnut  logs  squared  on  either  side 
and  with  the  face  left  rounded  in  the  natural 
shape  of  the  tree,  hewn  a  little  here  and  there 
to  keep  the  lines  from  being  exaggerated  in 
their  unevenness.  These  timbers  are  stained 
to  a  grayish  brown  tone  that,  from  a  little 
distance,  gives  the  same  effect  as  the  bark. 
The  lines  of  the  red-tiled  roof  are  low  and 
broad,  with  an  overhang  of  four  feet  on  the 
ends  and  three  feet  at  the  sides. 

The  pergola  is  made  of  peeled  cedar  logs 
left  in  their  natural  shape  and  color,  and  the 
floor,  which  is  almost  on  a  level  with  the 
ground,  is  a  dull  red  vitrified  brick  laid  in 
herring-bone  pattern  at  right  angles.  Ex- 
tending from  the  side  of  the  house  is  a  roofed 
pergola, — if  such  a  thing  may  be. — for  while 
the  timbers  and  the  flooring  are  those  of  a 
pergola,  it  has  a  tiled  roof  like  that  of  the 
house.     This  is  not  a  part  of  the  construction 


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DETAIL    <iF     DINING     ROOM     SHOWING 
BUILT-IN    SIDEBOARD    AND    WINDOWS. 

proper,  but  is  merely  the  expression  of  an 
individual  fancy  for  an  outdoor  dining  room 
and  a  sort  of  camp  cooking  place.  At  the 
end  is  built  an  outdoor  fireplace  and  a  big 
rough  chimney.  The  detail  of  this  fireplace, 
with  its  hobs,  crane,  and  two  brick  ovens, 
is  given  in  the  first  illustration. 


BLD-ROOM 
116AX20-8 


=4== 


BLD-ROOM 
11  6,4X20  8 


t^===d|=  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  = 

'£  -    BILLIARD    KOOM: 
21   4X25    -  - 


BATH 
8  2XIO  7  ] 


BLD-ROOM 
23   1XU 


THIRD    STORY    FLOOR    PLAN. 


49 


A  SMALL   SHINGLED   HOUSE   THAT   SHOWS    MANY 
INTERESTING  STRUCTURAL  FEATURES 


Published   in   The  Craft 

WE  have  suggested  the  use  of  shingles 
for  the  walls  of  this  plain  little 
cottage  because  they  seem  the  best 
adapted  to  the  peculiarities  of  its 
construction.  They  should,  however,  be  laid 
in  double  course,  the  top  ones  being  well  ex- 
posed and  the  under  ones  showing  not  much 
over  an  inch  below.  This  not  only  gives  an 
interesting  effect  of  irregularity  as  to  the 
wall  surface,  but  adds  much  to  the  warmth 
of  the  house.  All  the  lines  of  the  frame- 
work are  simple  to  a  degree,  but  the  plain- 
ness is  relieved  by  the  widely  overhanging 
eaves  and  rafters  of  the  roof,  the  well-pro- 
portioned porch,  which  is  balanced  by  the 
extension  to  the  rear,  the  heavy  beams  which 


EXTERIOR   VIEW    FROM    THE    FRONT. 

run  entirely  around  the  walls  with  a  slight 
turn  of  the  shingles  above  and  the  effective 
grouping  of  the  windows.     The  little  house  is 


■  VJ  IIS  DOW  -br-A.T-1  N-LIV1M  q  -  ROOTT  - 

.-,0 


FIRST  STORY  FLOOR    PLAN. 


A  SMALL  SIIIXGLHI)  HOUSE 


-->  .-^-  -a 


W  Xm™     ■-"  — * 


•lNTLRIOR-LLLVATlON-or-LNlIsq-  K-OOI^T  • 


built  to  stand  rough  weather  and  this  sturd- 
iness  is  the  direct  cause  of  the  wealth  of  at- 
tractive structural  features.  The  roof  of  the 
porch  projects  two  and  a  half  feet,  which  af- 
fords protection  even  in  a  driving  storm.  Also 
for  protection,  all  the  exposed  windows  are 
capped  by  little  shingled  hoods  which  come  up 
from  the  walls  and  which,  in  addition  to  their 
usefulness,  form  one  of  the  most  charming  fea- 
tures of  the  whole  construction.  The  eaves  of 
the  main  roof  project  over  the  front  for  two 
and  a  half  feet,  and  the  weight  is  supported  by 
purlins  placed  at  the  peak  of  the  roof  and 
at  this  connection  with  each  of  the  side  walls. 
This  widely  projecting  roof  gives  a  most 
comfortable  effect  of  shelter  and  homelike- 
ness,  an  effect  which  is  heightened  by  the  way 


SECOND    STORY    FLOOR    PLAN. 


in  which  the  quaint  little  casement  windows 
on  the  second  story  seem  to  hide  under  its 
wing.  The  view  of  the  living  room  shown 
in  the  illustration  is  that  which  would  be  seen 
by  anyone  looking  through  the  triple  case- 
ment on  the  side  wall.  The  first  thing  seen 
by  one  entering  from  the  porch  would  be  the 
fireplace,  which  is  thrown  diagonally  across 
the  corner  with  a  small  built-in  seat  between 
it  and  the  landing  of  the  staircase.  The  fire- 
place is  made  of  rough  red  brick,  with  a  stone 
mantel-shelf  set  on  a  line  with  the  wainscot. 


LIVING  ROOM    SHOWING  CORNER   FIREPLACE,   BUILT-IN    SEAT 
DOOR    AT    THE    SIDE. 


AND    STAN;    LANDING,    WITH    A    VIEW    OF   THE   ENTRANCE 


51 


A   ROOMY,  INVITING  FARMHOUSE,  DESIGNED  FOR 
PLEASANT   HOME   LIKE   IN   THE  COUNTRY 


Published  in  The  Craftsman.  December,   1908. 

VIEW     SHOWING    FRONT     PORCH,    OUTSIDE     KITCHEN     AND    DORMEf 

BELIEVING  that  no  form  of  dwelling  better  repaj 
the  thought  and  care  put  upon  it  than  does  th 
farmhouse,  we  give  here  a  design  for  the  kind  o 
house  that  is  meant  above  all  things  to  fur 
a  pleasant,  convenient  and  comfortable  environment  fo 
farm  life  and  farm  work. 

The  house  is  low,  broad  and  comfortable  looking  in  it 
proportions  and  exceedingly  simple  in  design  and  con 
struction.  The  walls  are  sheathed  with  clap- 
boards ami  rest  upon  a  foundation  of  field 
stone  that  is  sunk  so  low  as  to  be  hardly  per- 
ceptible, so  that  the  house,  while  perfectly 
sanitary  and  well  (.trained,  seems  very  close 
to  the  ground.  The  clapboards  are  eight  or 
ten  inches  wide  and  should  be  at  least  seven- 
eighths  of  an  inch  thick.  Although  they  are 
to  be  laid  like  all  clapboards,  the  thickness  of 
the  boards  will  necessitate  a  small  triangular 
strip  between  each  board  and  the  joist  to 
which  it  is  nailed.  This  support  prevents  the 
boards  from  warping  or  splitting,  as  they 
might  do  if  nailed  directly  to  the  joist  with- 
out any  support  between. 

The  grouping  of  the  windows   is  one  of 


FIRST   STORY   FLOOR    PLAN. 


A  ROOMY,  INVITING  FARMHOUSE 


the  most  attractive  features   of   the   house  as   seen    from 
the  outside.     They  are  all    casements  made  to  swing  out- 
ward   and    are    grouped    in     long    horizontal    lines    thai 
harmonize  admirably   with   the   low-pitched  roof  and  the 
wide  low  look  of  the  house   as    a    whole.      The    shutters 
are  made  of  wide  clapboards  like  those  used  on  the  walls, 
four  boards  to  each  shutter,  with  a  heart-shaped  piercing 
cut  out  of  the  two  central   boards  before  they   are  fitte< 
together.    These  shutters  are  wide  enough  to  cover  the 
whole  window  when  closed.     The  windows  that  give  light 
to   the   three   front   bedrooms   upstairs   are 
grouped   into   one   long   dormer,   the   case- 
ments being  divided  by  two  plaster  panels, 
behind  which  come  the  ends  of  the  parti- 
tions between  the  bedrooms.     This  dormer 
adds    greatly    to    the    effect    of    the    whole 
building,   as    it   breaks   the   long   sweep   of 
the  roof  without  introducing  a  false  line. 
The  plan  of  the  interior  is  simple  to  a 
degree,  as  the  rooms  are  arranged  with  a 
view  to  making  the  work  of  the  household  as 
light   as   possible.      The   greater   part    of   the 
lower  floor   is  taken   up  by   the   large   living 
room,    which    practically    includes    the    dining 
room,    as    the    division    between    them    is    so 
slight   as   to    be   hardlv    more    than    the    susr- 


SECOXD 
STORY 
FLOOR 
PLA  N . 


gestion  of  a  partition  on  either  side  of  the 
wide  opening.  The  front  door  opens  into  an 
entry  or  vestibule  which  is  divided  from  the 
living  room  by  a  curtain  and.  where  pro- 
vision is  made,  for  hanging  up  hats  and  coats 
and    for    keeping    other    outdoor    belongings. 


LIVING    ROOM    OF    THE    FARMHOUSE    SHOWING    FIREPLACE    NOOK    WITH    BUILT-IN    SEATS    AND    CASEMENT    WINDOWS; 
THE    ENTRY    APPEARS    AT    ONE    SIDE    OF    THE    NOOK. 


53 


A     SIMPLE,     STRAIGHTFORWARD     DESIGN     FROM 
WHICH   MANY  HOMES  HAVE  BEEN  BUILT 


Published  in   The  Craftsman,  January,   1909. 
EXTERIOR   VIEW.    SHOWING    WELL-BALANCED   PROPORTIONS    AND    SIMPLE   TREATMENT  OF    WINDOWS   AND    WALL-SPACES. 


FIREPLACE    IN    LIVING    ROOM,    SHOWING    THE    BUILT-IN   BOOKCASES    AND    CASEMENTS    ON    EITHER    SIDE. 

54 


A  SIMPLE,  STRAIGHT  FORWARD  DESIGN 


THIS  has  been  one  of  the  most  popular 
of  the  Craftsman  house  designs  and 
as  shown  here  it  has  been  modified 
somewhat  from  the  first  plan,  the 
modifications  and  improvements  having  been 
suggested  by  the  different  people  who  have 
built  the  house,  so  that  they  are  all  valuable 
as  the  outcome  of  practical  experience.  Al- 
though the  illustration  shows  plastered  walls 
and  a  foundation  of  field  stone,  the  design 
lends  itself  quite  as  readily  to  walls  of  brick 
or  stone,  or  even  to  shingles  or  clapboards, 
if  a  wooden  house  be  desired. 


-=^^=- 


OUTSIDE     KITCHEN 
%\ '  o"    *    10'  o" 


FIRST  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 


SECOND  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 

The  outside  kitchen  at  the  back  is  recom- 
mended only  in  the  event  of  the  house  being 
built  in  the  country,  because  in  town  it  would 
hardly  be  needed.  In  a  farmhouse  such  an 
outside  kitchen  is  most  convenient  as  it  af- 
fords an  outdoor  place  for  such  work  as  wash- 
ing and  ironing,  canning,  preserving  and  other 
tasks  which  are  much  less  wearisome  if  done 
in  the  open  air.  The  position  of  the  chimney 
at  the  back  of  the  house  makes  it  possible  for 
a  stove  to  be  placed  upon  this  porch  for  the 
use  mentioned.  The  house  is  so  designed  that 
this  outside  kitchen  may  be  added  to  it  or 
omitted,  as  desired,  without  making  any  dif- 
ference to  the  plan  as  a  whole.  The  plan  of 
the  lower  story  shows  the  usual  open  ar- 
rangement of  the  Craftsman  house.  The  en- 
trance door  opens  into  a  small  entry  screened 
from  the  living  room  by  heavy  portieres,  so 
that  no  draught  from  the  front  door  is  felt 
inside.  On  the  outside  wall  of  the  living 
room  is  the  arrangement  of  fireplace  and 
bookcases,  as  shown  in  the  illustration.  A 
large  table  might  be  placed  in  the  center,  with 
a  settle  back  to  it  and  facing  the  fire. 


A    CRAFTSMAN    HOUSE    IN    WHICH    TOWER    CON 
STRUCTION  HAS  BEEN  EFFECTIVELY  USED 


i    *= 


i 

Published  in  The  Craftsman,  September,  1906. 
FRONT   VIEW    OF    HOUSE    SHOWING   TOWERS    AND   VERANDAS    IN    FRONT    AND    PERGOLA    AT    THE    SIDE. 


SOMETHING    of    a    departure    is    made 
from  the  usual  style  of  the  Craftsman 
house  in  planning  this  one,  which   we 
regard  as  one  of  the  most  completely 
successful  house  plans  ever  published  in  The 
Craftsman.      It    is    not    a    large    house,    yet 
it   gives   the    impression    of    dignity   and   spa- 


ciousness which  usually  belongs  only  to  a 
large  building ;  it  is  in  no  sense  an  elaborate 
house,  yet  it  is  decorative, — possessing  a  sort 
of  homely  picturesqueness  which  takes  away 
all  appearance  of  severity  from  the  straight 
lines  and  massive  walls.  This  is  largely  due 
to   the   square   tower-like   construction    at   the 


.-,<; 


A   CRAFTSMAN    MOUSE   WITH  TOWER  CONSTRUCTION 


two  corners  in  front  and  to  the 
lower  verandas,  both  ample  in  size 
anil  deeply  recessed,  which  occupy 
the  whole  width  of  the  house  be- 
tween the  towers.  Of  these,  one  is 
the  entrance  porch  and  the  other 
an  outdoor  sleeping  room, — the 
latter  a  very  essential  part  of 
every  house  that  is  built  with 
special  reference  to  health  and 
freedom  of  living. 

As  suggested  here,  the  house  is 
of    cement    and    half-timber    con- 
struction with  a  tiled  roof  and  a 
foundation    of    local    field    stone 
carefully    split    and    fitted, 
foundation    is   carried    up 
to      form      the     parapets 
that    shelter   the    recessed 
porches     on     the     lower 
story,  and  the  copings  are 
of    gray    sandstone.     The 
walls  are  of  cement  plas- 
ter on  metal  lath,  the  plas- 
ter being  given  the  rough 
gravel  finish   and   colored 
in  varying  tones  of  green. 


All   the   exterior  wood   trim   i-  of  cypress 

very  much  darkened   by  the  chemical  process 
which  we  use.     In  this  house  the 
exterior    woodwork    is    especially 
satisfying  in  its  structural  form, 
being  decorative  in  its  lines  and 
the  division  of  wall  spaces  and 
yet  obviously  an  essential  part 
of  the  structure.    The  horizon- 
~J     tal  beams  serve  to  bind  together 
the  lines  of  the  whole  framework, 
and  the  uprights  are  simply  cor- 
ner-posts and  continuations  of  the 
window  frames.    The  roof  of  dull 
red  tiles  gives  life  and  warmth  to 
the  color  scheme  of  the  exterior, 
and  the  thick  round  pillars 
painted  white  lend  a  sharp 
accent  that  emphasizes  the 
whole. 

The  entrance  door  is  at 
the  left  end  of  the  porch 
which,  by  this  device,  is 
made  to  seem  less  like  a 
mere  entrance  and  more 
like  a  pleasant  gathering 
place  where  outdoor  life 
may  go  on.  This  porch  is 
illustrated  in  detail  on  page 
upper   and      ninety-nine  as  a  typical  Craftsman  front  porch. 


FIRST    STORY   FLOOR    TLAN 


SECOND    FLOOR    PLAN. 
57 


STORAGE-ROOM    AND  SERVANTS     ROOM    IX    ATTIC. 


A  CRAFTSMAN   HOUSE    WITH  TOWER   CONSTRUCTION 


ALCOVE  IN  THE  DINING  ROOM  MADE  BY  THE  TOWER  CONSTRUCTION.  THIS  LITTLE  NOOK  IS  FITTED  UP  FOR  A 
SMOKING  ROOM  OR  DEX  AND  HAS  ALL  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  A  BAY  WINDOW  OR  SMALL  SUN*  ROOM.  AS  THE  WIN- 
DOWS ON  EITHER  SIDE  ADMIT  FLOODS  OF  SUNSHINE,  PROVIDED  THE  HOUSE  IS  SO  PLACED  AS  TO  GIVE  THIS  TOWER 
A    SOUTHERN    OR    WESTERN    EXPOSURE.       NOTE    THE    CONSTRUCTION    OF    THE    OVERHEAD    BEAMS. 


58 


A   CRAFTSMAN  HOUSE   WITH   TOWER  CONSTRUCTION 


A  CORNER  OF  THE  LIVING  ROOM,  LOOKING  INTO  THE  DINING  ROOM  SO  THAT  THE  POST-AND-PANEL  CONSTRUCTION 
WHICH  INDICATES  A  DIVISION  BETWEEN  THE  TWO  ROOMS  IS  PLAINLY  SHOWN.  THE  CHIMNEYPIECE  IS  MADE  OF 
LARGE  SQUARE  TILES,  MATT-FINISHED  IN  A  DULL  TONE  OF  BROWNISH  YELLOW  AND  BOUND  AT  THE  CORNERS  WITH 
STRIPS  OF  EITHER  COPPER  OR  IRON.  THE  FIREPLACE  H03D  IS  OF  COPPER  AND  THE  ANDIRONS  OF  WROUGHT  IRON. 
COMBINED  WITH  THE  BROWN  OF  THE  OAK  OR  CHESTNUT  WOODWORK,  THIS  WOULD  FORM  THE  BASIS  OF  A  RICH  AND 
QUIET    COLOR    SCHEME. 


A  CONCRETE   COTTAGE   DESIGNED   IN   THE   FORM 
OF  A  GREEK  CROSS  TO  ADMIT  MORE  LIGHT 


Published  in  The  C 


FRONT   VIEW   OF  THE  COTTAGE   SHOWING   THE   TWO    SMALL   ENTRANCE   PORCHES. 


CONCRETE  or  hollow  cement  block 
construction  were  what  we  had  in. 
mind  in  the  designing  of  this  cottage. 
Therefore  the  form  of  it  is  especially 
adapted  to  the  use  of  this  mate- 
rial, although,  like  the  others,  the 
general  plan  admits  of  the  use  of 
brick  or  stone,  clapboards  or  shin- 
gles, if  desired.  As  we  have 
shown  it  here,  the  side  walls  are 
broken  into  panels  by  raised 
bands  of  concrete,  which  bind  the 
corners  and  also  run  around  the 
entire  structure  at  the  connection 
of  the  roof  and  again  between  the 
first  and  second  stories.  These 
bands  are  smooth-surfaced,  but 
the  walls  are  made  very  rough 
by  the  simple  process  of  washing 
off  the  surface  with  a  brush  and 
plenty  of  water  immediately  after 
the  form  is  removed  and  while 
the  material  is  set  but  still  fri- 
able. If  this  is  done  at  exactly 
the  right  time,  the  washing-brush 
can  be  so  applied  as  to  remove 
the  mortar  to  a  considerable 
depth  between  the  blocks,  leav- 
ing them   in  relief  and  producing 


a    rough  coarse  texture  that  is  very  interesting. 

The  plan  of  this  house  is  not  unlike  a  Greek 

cross,  the  rooms  being  so  arranged  that  the 

greatest  possible  allowance  of  space  is  made 


FIRST   STORY   FLOOR    PLAN. 


til) 


A   CONCRETE   COTTAGE 


available  and  also  an  unusual 
amount  of  light  and  air.  The 
foundation  is  of  concrete  and  is 
continued  upward  on  a  gentle 
slant  from  the  ground  to  a  line 
at  the  b-ase  of  the  windows  on 
the  first  floor,  which  gives  a  con- 
tinuous horizontal  line  on  a  level 
with  the  parapets  of  the  porches 
that  are  placed  on  either  side 
of  the  front  wing. 

The  main  entrance  porch  is  at 
the  right  of  the  house,  as  shown 
in  the  half-tone  illustration,  while 
the  kitchen  is  entered  from  the 
porch  on  the  left.  The  rear  porch 
is  recessed  and  extends  the  whole 
width  of  the  wing,  being  large 
enough  to  serve  as  a  very  com- 
fortable dining  room.  For  this 
style  of  house  we  would  recom- 
mend that  all  the  porches  be 
floored  with  red  cement  divided 
into  squares.  As  shown  in  the  il- 
lustration of  the  interior,  the 
mums  on  the  first  floor  are  sep- 
arated with  the  open  post-and- 
panel  construction,  which  merely 
indicates  a  division  between  them. 


SECOND    STORY    FLOOR    PLAN. 


A  SECTION  OF  THE  LIVING  ROOM,  SHOWING  ENTRA.NCE  HALL,  STAIRWAY,  CHIMNEYPIECE,  FIRESIDE  SEAT  AND  A 
GLIMPSE  OF  THE  DINING  ROOM.  NOTE  THE  WAY  THE  WOODWORK  IS  USED  TO  CARRY  THE  SAME  STRUCTURAL  IDEA 
THROUGHOUT  THE  WHOLE  LOWER  FLOOR. 


<)1 


A  BUNGALOW  OF  IRREGULAR    FORM  AND  UNUSU 
ALLY  INTERESTING  CONSTRUCTION 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  April,  1907 

VIEW  OF  THE  BUNGALOW   SHOWING  COURT   AND   PERGOLA,  DINING    PORCH    AND    SLOPE    OF    THE    HILL. 


THE  plans  and  drawings  of  this  bun- 
galow, while  partly  our  own,  are 
adapted  from  rough  sketches  sent  us 
by  one  of  our  subscribers,  Mr.  George 
D.  Rand,  of  Aubumdale,  Mass.  Mr.  Rand 
is  an  architect  who  has  retired  from  active 
work,  and  these  sketches  were  made  for  his 
own  bungalow,  which  is  situated  in  the  moun- 
tain region  of  New  Hampshire.  In  sending 
us  the  sketches,  Mr.  Rand  kindly  gave  us  per- 
mission to  use  the  idea  as  outlined  by  him. 
with  such  alterations  as  seemed  best  to  us. 
In  accordance  with  this  permission,  we  make 
quite  a  number  of  minor  modifications  in  the 
original  design,  and  many  of  the  suggestions 
for  construction  are  our  own. 

The  house  is  somewhat  irregular  in  design, 
but  is  so  admirably  proportioned  and  planned 
that  the  broken  lines  impress  one  as  they  do 


when  seen  in  some  old  English  house  that  has 
grown  into  its  present  shape  through  centuries 
of  alteration  in  response  to  changing  needs. 
It  seems  above  all  things  to  be  a  house  fitted 
to  crown  a  hilltop  in  the  open  country,  espe- 
cially where  the  slope  is  something  the  same 
as  indicated  in  the  site  here  shown.  The  line 
from  the  back  of  the  roof  down  to  the  boat 
landing  comes  as  near  to  being  a  perfect 
relation  of  house  and  ground  as  is  often  seen, 
and  this  relation  is  of  the  first  importance  in 
the  attempt  to  suit  a  house  to  its  environment. 
The  exterior  walls  and  the  roof  are  of 
shingles,  and  the  foundations,  parapets,  col- 
umns and  chimneys  are  of  split  stone  laid  up 
in  dark  cement.  The  construction  of  the  roof 
is  admirable  and,  with  all  the  irregularity, 
there  is  a  certain  ample  graciousness  and 
dignity  in  line  and  proportion.     At  the  front 


m 


AN     UNUSUALLY    INTERESTING     BUNGALOW 


T 


of  the  house  between  the  two  gables  is  a 
recessed  court,  paved  with  red  cement  cut 
into  squares  like  tiles  and  roofed  over  with  a 
pergola  of  which  the  beautiful  construction  is 
shown  in  the  de- 
tail given  of  this 
court. 

the  large  porch 
at  the  side  of  the 
house    is    intended 
for      an      outdoor 
living    and    dining 
room     and     corre- 
sponds   closely    in 
arrangement    with 
the    rooms    which 
open  upon  it.     Its 
construction   is  the 
same    as    that    of 
the    court,    except 
that   it   is   sheltered  by  a  wide- 
eaved  roof  instead  of  a  pergola 
and   is  so  arranged   that   it   can     otco^D-rLooR  •^nd-roof-plain 
be  easily  closed  in   for  cold  or 
stormy  weather.     At  the  end  next  the  living 
room  there  is  a  large  fireplace  built  of  split 
stone,  which  exactly  corresponds  with  the  fire- 
place in  the  indoor  living  room.     A  good  fire 
of  logs  on  this  outdoor  hearth  gives  the  same 
effect  of  warmth  and  cheer  as   a  camp  fire. 
If  casements  were  placed  all  around  the  porch 
so  that  it  could  be  entirely 


it  is  to  be  exposed  to 
the  weather,  the  ce- 
ment floor  would  be 
more    durable, 


sun 


closed  in  time  of  storm  and 
cold,  it  might  be  an  excellent 
idea  to  floor  it  smoothly  with 
wood    for    dancing;    but    if 


r  I  B.  ST  •  r  I_  O  O  R.  •  F  L  A  IN  ■ 


and  wind  soon  roughen  the  best  wood  floor. 
The  house  is  rich  in  fireplaces,  for  not  only 
are  there  the  large  chimneypieces,  in  the  liv- 
ing room  and  on  the  porch  adjoining,  but  two 
of  the  bedrooms  on  the  lower  floor  have  corner 
fireplaces.     As  the  kitchen  is  so  placed  as  to 
be  practically  detached  from  the  remainder  of 
the  house,  another  flue  is  necessary  for  the 
kitchen  range. 

From  the  court  the  entrance  door  opens 
into  a  small  square  hall,  which  is  practically 
an  alcove  of  the  living  room  and  which 
connects  by  a  nar- 
row passage  with 
the  bedrooms  at 
the  opposite  side 
of  the  house.  The 
bathroom  is  placed 
almost  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  house, 
which  might  be 
undesirable  if  it 
were  not  com- 
p  1  e  t  e  1  y  shut  off 
from  the  living 
rooms  by  the  plan 
of  the  hall  and  by 
the  same  plan 
made  easily  acces- 
sible to  the  three 
bedrooms. 


63 


AN     UNUSUALLY     INTERESTING     BUNGALOW 


DETAIL  OF    THE    COURT,    SHOWING    CONSTRUCTION    OF    THE    PERGOLA    AND    THE    USE    OF    VINES,    SHRUBS    AND    FLOWER 
BO  LES        THE    GLASS    DOOR    IS   THE    MAIN    ENTRANCE   DOOR   OF   THE    HOUSE. 


The  construction  of  the  living  room  is  very 
interesting,  as  everything  is  revealed  up  to 
the  ridge  pole  and  rafters  of  the  roof.  The 
roof  itself  has  such  a  long  sweep  that  there 
would  be  danger  of  its  sagging,  were  it  not 
for  the  trusses  that  brace  it  in  the  center. 
These  trusses,  in  addition  to  their  use,  add 
much  to  the  decorative  effect  of  the  structure. 
Across  the  front  and  down  the  side  of  the 
living  room  to  the  fireplace  is  a  built-in  seat 
paneled  below  and  backed  with  a  wainscot  of 
V-jointed  boards.  If  desired,  the  top  of  this 
seat  can  be  hinged  in  sections,  making  the 
lower  part  a  place  for  storing  things.  The 
window  above  the  seat  in  front  gives  an 
unusually  interesting  effect,  as  there  is  a 
group  of  double  casements  on  what  in  an 
ordinary  house  would  be  the  lower  floor,  and 
another  group  of  single  casements,  the  cen- 
ter one  higher  than  the  sides,  just  above  the 
frieze  and  beam.     Another  casement  set  high 


in  the  wall  is  placed  opposite  the  fireplace, 
corresponding  in  position  to  the  door  which 
opens  upon  the  porch. 

Extending  to  a  point  half  way  across  the 
opening  into  the  hall  is  the  balcony  which 
forms  the  upstairs  sitting  room ;  this  is 
divided  from  the  living  room  only  by  a  rail- 
ing. The  floor  of  this  balcony  forms  the  ceil- 
ing of  the  dining  room,  which  is  separated 
from  the  living  room  only  by  double  cup- 
boards made  to  be  used  as  bookcases  on  one 
side  and  china  closets  on  the  other.  These 
cupboards  extend  to  the  same  height  as  the 
window-sills  and  mantel,  carrying  this  line 
around  the  room.  The  space  above  is  open 
and  hung  with  small  curtains.  This  effect 
of  a  small  low  dining  room  recessed  from  a 
living  room  that  runs  clear  to  the  roof  is 
delightful  in  the  sense  it  gives  of  homelike 
comfort,  as  the  effect  is  that  of  a  snug  little 
retreat  devoted  to  good  cheer. 


(14 


A     BUNGALOW    OF     IRRFCilFAR     FORM 


OF   THE    LIVING    ROOM,    SHOWING    UPPER    AND    LOWER    WINDOWS    AT    THE    FRONT    OF    THE    HOUSE,    THE    SEAT 
SERVES   BOTH    AS   WINDOW   AND   FIRESIDE   SEAT  AND   THE    FORM    AND    CONSTRUCTION    OF    THE   FIREPLACE. 


A  PORTION  OF  THE  LIVING  ROOM,  LOOKING  INTO  THE  DINING  ROOM.  THE  CEILING  OF  THE  LATTER  IS  FORMED  BY  THE. 
FLOOR  OF  THE  BALCONY  ABOVE,  SO  THAT  IT  HAS  THE  APPEARANCE  OF  A  LOW-CEILED  RECESS,  AND  THE  BOOKCASES- 
MAKE   THE    PARTITION.      THE    BALCONY    IS    USED    AS    AN  UPSTAIRS    SITTING   ROOM. 

65 


A    ROOMY,    HOMELIKE    FARMHOUSE   FOR    LOVERS 
OF  PLAIN  AND  WHOLESOME  COUNTRY  LIFE 


Published   in    The   Craftsman,   March,  1909. 


FRONT    VIEW    SHOWING    PORCH,    DORMER    AND    SLEEPING    BALCONY. 


BOTH  in  exterior  seeming  and  in  inte- 
rior arrangement  and  finish,  this 
building  is  essentially  a  farmhouse, — 
not  of  the  comfortless  type 
that  we  have  been  accustomed  to  of 
late  years,  but  one  that  is  reminiscent 
of  earlier  days,  when  a  farmhouse  was 
in  very  truth  the  homestead  and  as 
such  was  large,  substantial,  comfort- 
able and  inviting.  The  design  is  very 
simple,  with  clapboarded  or  shingled 
walls  and  a  broad  sheltering  roof,  the 
straight  sweep  of  which  is  broken  by 
a  large  dormer  on  either  side.  The 
wide  veranda  in  front  is  recessed, 
forming  a  sheltered  porch  that  could 
be  used  for  much  outdoor  life.  The 
windows  as  suggested  here  are  all 
casements,  those  on  the  upper  story 
being  protected  from  the  weather  by 
the  broadly  overhanging  roof  and  the 
lower  ones  sheltered  by  hoods.  At 
the  front  of  the  house  the  dormer  is 
extended  to  form  a  good-sized  sleep- 
ing porch  and  at  the  back  it  accommo- 
dates the  bathroom. 

As  the  general  effect  of  the  house 
is  broad  and  low,  it  is  fitting  that 
very   little   of   the   foundation    should 


be  visible.  A  far  better  effect  is  given  if 
no  attempt  is  made  to  establish  too  strict  a 
grade    line,    as    the    house    seems    to    fit    the 


JHV'L, 


FIRST     5TOT3-Y    PLAM 


66 


A    ROOMY,     IIOMKLIKK     FARMHOUSE 


ground  much  better  if  the  foundation  is 
accommodated  to  the  natural  irregulari- 
ties and  if  the  floor  of  the  porch  is  very 
little  elevated  above  the  turf. 

The  interior  arrangement,  while  sim- 
plicity itself,  is  very  convenient.  There 
is  hardly  anything  to  mark  the  divisions 
between  the  reception  hall,  living  room 
and  dining  room,  so  that  these  names 
rather  serve  to  indicate  the  uses  to  which 
the  different  parts  of  this  one  large  room 
may  be  put  than  to  imply  that  they  are 
separate  rooms.  In  the  very  center  of 
the  house  is  the  large  fireplace  nook 
which  naturally  forms  the  center  of  in- 
terest and  attraction,  with  its  ample 
chimneypiece  of  the  split  field  stone  and 
the  comfortable  fireside  seat  beside  the 
hearth.  Were  it  not  for  the  arrange- 
ment of  this  large  open  space,  there 
might  be  a  sense  of  bareness ;  but  this 
is  entirely  obviated  by  the  shape  of  the 
room,  the  prominence  given  to  the  fire- 
side nook,  and  the  liberal  use  of  wood  in 
the  form  of  beams,  wainscots,  seats  and 
such  built-in  fixtures  as  mav  be  necessary. 


BED    ROOM 
n'  o"*   io'  o" 


I .11— 


3LEEPINO 

,  "PoiacH.     _ 

IO      *3"    *    T    O 


J I 


SECOND     STORY     PLAN. 


FIRESIDE    NOOK,   GIVING   AN    IDEA   OF   THE   BROAD    CHIMNEYPIECE  BUILT  OF   SPLIT   FIELD   STONE   AND  OF  THE   FIRESIDE 
SEAT,   WHICH    IS    MADE  OF   WIDE  BOARDS   V-JOINTED. 


67 


A  PLASTER  HOUSE  UPON  WHICH  WOOD  HAS  BEEN 
LIBERALLY  USED 


Published    in    The    Craftsman,    December,    1906. 

FRONT   OF   THE    HOUSE,    SHOWING    EFFECT    OF    PORCHES    WITH    WOODEN    BALUSTRADES. 


WE  have  always  found  the  combina- 
tion of  rough-finished  plaster  with 
plenty  of  exterior  woodwork  to  be 
very  attractive,  and  this  house  is  a 
good  example  of  the  way  in  which  we  relieve 
the  severity  of  the  plain  plaster.  The  design 
of  the  house  is  not  as  straight  and  massive  as 
is  usual  with  the  Craftsman  cement  or  plaster 


houses,  vet  it  is  very  simple,  and  the  exterior 
features  are  such  as  to  make  for  great  dur- 
ability. 

The  foundation  of  the  house  as  shown  is 
of  very  hard  and  rough  red  brick  as  to  the 
visible  part.  Should  this  brick  not  be  easily 
obtainable  or  too  costly  in  the  local  market,  a 
quarry-faced,    broken-joint    ashlar    or    some 


68 


A     PLASTER     AND     TIMBER     HOUSE 


darker  stone  would  be  very  effective  with 
either  gray  or  green  cement.  As  to  the 
woodwork,  we  would  suggest  cypress,  which  is 
inexpensive,  durable  and  beautiful  in  color  and 
grain  when  finished  according  to  the  process 
we  describe  elsewhere  in  this  book.  The  color 
under  this  treatment  is  a  rich  warm  brown 
which,  when  used  for  the  half-timber  con- 
struction, window  framings  and  balustrades, 
would  look  equally  well  with  plaster  either 
left  in  the  natural  gray  or  given  a  tone  of  bis- 
cuit color  or  of  dull  green. 

Some  idea  of  the  interior  woodwork  is  given 
in  the  detail  drawings.  A  great  deal  of  wood 
is  used  in  the  form  of  wainscoting,  grilles  and 


FIRST  STORY  FLOOR  ['LAN. 


SECOND  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 

the  like,  and  the  whole  scheme  of  decoration 
and  furnishing  naturally  is  founded  on  this 
use  of  wood.  It  would  be  best  to  treat  the  upper 
walls  and  ceilings  of  the  hall,  living  room  and 
dining  room  alike,  as  the  object  is  to  give  a 
sense  of  space,  dignity  and  restfulness  to  the 
part  of  the  house  that  is  most  lived  in  and  this 
effect  is  best  obtained  by  having  no  change  in 
the  background.  The  rooms  open  into  each  other 
in  such  a  way  as  to  suggest  one  large  room 
irregularly  shaped  and  full  of  recesses,  and 
any  marked  difference  in  the  treatment  of  the 
walls  is  apt  to  produce  an  effect  of  patchiness 
as  well  as  the  restlessness  that  comes  from 
marked  variations  in  our  home  surroundings. 


DETAIL   DRAWING    SHOWING    CONSTRUCTION    AND    PLACING    OF    WAINSCOT,    DOOR,    STAIRCASE    AND    LANDING. 

CO 


A    FARMHOUSE    DESIGNED     WITH    A     LONG,    UN- 
BROKEN ROOF  LINE  AT  THE  BACK 


Published  in   The   Craftsman,   Januai 

FRONT    VIEW,    SHOWING    RUSTIC    PERGOLA    AND    INTERESTING    CONSTRUCTION    THAT    SUPPORTS    THE    OVERHANG. 


MM  iftllsL 


REAR   VIEW    SHOWING    WIDE    SWEEP   OF    ROOF    AT    THE    BACK    IN    PLACE   OF   THE   CUSTOMARY      LEAN-TO. 

70 


A    FARMHOUSE    WITH    A    LONG    HOOF    LINE 


WE  feel  that  the  design  for  this 
farmhouse  is  one  of  the  most 
satisfactory  that  we  have  ever 
clone,  not  only  because  the  build- 
ing, simple  as  it  is,  is  graceful  in  line  and 
proportion,  but  because  the  interior  is  so 
arranged  as  to  simplify  the  work  of  the 
household  and  to  give  a  good  deal  of  room 
within  a  comparatively  small  area. 

The  plan  is  definitely  that  of  a  farm- 
house, and  in  this  frank  expression  of  its 
character  and  use  lies  the  chief  charm  of 
the  dwelling.  The  walls  might  be  covered 
with  either  shingles  or  clapboards,  accord- 
ing to  the  taste  and  means  of  the  owner. 
If  the  beauty  of  the  building  were  more  to 
be  considered  than  the  expense  of  con- 
struction, we  should  recommend  the  use 
of  rived  cypress  shingles,  as  these  are  not 
only  very  durable  but  have  a  most  inter- 
esting surface.  The  only  difficulty  is  that 
they  cost  about  double  the  price  of  the 
ordinary  shingles.  As  the  construction  of 
the  house  in  front  is  such  that  a  veranda 


tP 


SECOND  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 


FIRST  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 

would  be  rather  a  disfigurement  than  an 
improvement,  we  have  supplied  its  place  by 
a  terrace  covered  with  a  pergola.  The  ter- 
race would  naturally  be  of  cement  or  vitri- 
fied brick  and  the  construction  of  the  per- 
gola should  be  rustic  in  character.  One 
great  advantage  of  such  a  pergola  is  that 
the  vines  that  cover  it  afford  sufficient  shade 
in  summer,  while  in  winter  there  is  nothing 
to  interfere  with  the  air  and  sunlight,  which 
should  be  admitted  as  freely  as  possible  to 
the  house.  We  have  allowed  the  roof  to 
ci  ime  down  in  an  unbroken  sweep  toward 
the  back  because  of  the  beauty  and  unusual- 
ness  of  this  long  roof  line  as  compared  with 
the  usual  square  form  of  a  house  with  the 
lower  roof  of  a  porch  or  lean-to  at  the  back. 
Furthermore,  by  this  device  there  is  con- 
siderable space  for  storage  left  over  the 
kitchen  and  dining  room.  The  entry  opens 
into  the  living  room  at  right  angles  with  the 
entrance  door  and  this  opening  might  be  cur- 
tained to  avoid  draughts. 


71 


TWO    INEXPENSIVE    BUT    CHARMING     COTTAGES 
FOR  WOMEN  WHO  WANT  THEIR  OWN  HOMES 


IT  has  always  seemed  to  us  that   if  there 
is    one    kind    of    dwelling    that    is    more 
generally  needed  than  another,  it  is   the 
small   and    inexpensive,    yet   comfortable 
and  homelike,  cottage  that  can  be  built  almost 
for  the  year's  rent  of  a  flat,  or  even  of  room 
and   board    in   a 


boarding  house, 
and  that  would 
serve  as  a  home 
for  two  or  three 
people.  Especi- 
ally is  this  sort 
of  a  house 
■needed  by  wom- 
en of  limited 
means, — women 
who  either  work 
at  home  or  pos- 
sibly in  an  office 
•or  shop  and 
who  need  all 
the  home  com- 
fort they  can 
get,  instead  of 
dragging  out  an 


sharing  their  rooms.  The  houses  as  repre- 
sented here  are  built  of  held  stone,  but  the 
designs  would  serve  equally  well  for  concrete, 
— a  form  of  construction  that  would  greatl) 
lessen  the  cost, — or  for  frame  houses  covered 
with  shingles,  clapboards,  or  even  with  plain 

boards  and  bat- 
tens. In  fact, 
after  the  initial 
cost  of  the  lot 
in  some  suburb 
not  too  far  away 
from  the  place 
of  employment, 
it  should  be  a 
very  easy  mat- 
ter for  two  or 
three  women 
who  felt  thai 
they  would  like 
^■j^  ...  »W§mW^^^{ 

-__  for     themselves 

to  combine  their 
resources     and 

Published   >«    The   Craftsman,   March,    1904  DUlld     one     Ot 

these    little 

STONE  COTTAGE   WITH    RECESSED    PORCH    AND   BUNGALOW    ROOF.  ,  ■■- 

houses,  h.  v  e  n 
the  cost  of  the  lot  might  be  very  greatly  les- 
sened if  it  were  possible  to  build  in  a  village 


■existence     m     a 

boarding  house  or  facing  the  bugbear  of  rent 
clay  in  a  flat. 

These  cottages  each  would  serve  to  accom- 
modate a  group  of  three  or  four  and  the 
number  might  even  be  stretched  to  six  in  case 
of  very  congenial   people  who  did   not   mind 


near  the  city  or  right  out  in  the  country.  It 
is  the  woman  who  is  stranded  in  some  for- 
lorn hall  bedroom,  or  who  is  forced  to  feel 
that  she  is  a  superfluous  member  of  some- 
one else's  family,  who  would  most  welcome 
the  dignity  and  content  that  would  be  found 


1 

FIRST  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 


SECOND  STORY  FLOOR  PLAX. 


TWO  INEXPENSIVE  HIT  CHARMING  COT  TACKS 


in  a  hi  mie  i  if  her  own, — a  home  which  might  be 
shared  by  a  relative  or  close  friend  in  similar 
circumstances. 

The  chief  value  of  these  little  houses  lies 
in  the  fact  that  although  they  are  but  the  sim- 
plest of  cottages,  they  nevertheless  possess  a 
beauty  and  individuality  which  is  lacking  in 
in  a  n  y  a  resi- 
dence that  costs 
ten  times  as 
much.  We  feel 
that  in  exterior 
attractions  they 
are  fitted  to  take 
rank  with  any  of 
the  houses  de- 
signed in  The 
Craftsman 
Workshops,  and 
that  the  interior 
arrangement  is 
c  o  in  p  a  c  t  and 
comfortable  to  a 
(1  e  g  r  e  e.  The 
chief  difference 
between  them, 
as  regards  the 
exterior,  lies  in 
the  fact  that  in  the  case  of  the  first  one  the 
porch  is  recessed  and,  in  the  second,  is  ex- 
tended to  the  dimensions  of  a  good-sized 
veranda  that  runs  the  whole  width  of  the 
house.  In  interior  arrangement  they  are  much 
alike,  the  living  room  in  each  case  occupy- 
ing the  whole  of  one  side  of  the  house  and 


i 

Published  in  The  (.  raftsman,   March,  1904, 


STONE    COTTAGE    WITH    VERANDA. 
GALOW    ROOF   AND   OF   CASEMENT 


oinimg  alcove 


Q 


a 


D 


U 


LIVING     PCOOIVt 


7 


opening  into  a  dining  alcove  which  takes  about 
half  of  the  other  side.  The  kitchen  occupies 
the  remaining  corner  and,  if  this  be  fitted  witii 
convenient  cupboards,  work'  table  and  the  like, 
there  would  lie  no  necessity  for  a  pantry.  Up- 
stairs also  the  arrangement  of  the  I  wo  cottages 
is  somewhat  similar,  as  in  each  case  the  space 

is  divided  into 
three  bedrooms 
and  a  bathri  10m, 
with  plenty  of 
closet  room 
tucked  away  in- 
to nooks  and 
corners. 

As  to  the  in- 
terior woodwork 
and  furnishing, 
these  need  not 
be  costly  in  or- 
der to  be  attrac- 
tive. Some  in- 
expensive native 
wood,  such  as 
pine,  or  cypress, 
or  that  grade  of 
chestnut  known 
to  builders  as 
"sound  wormy,"  would,  if  finished  properly, 
give  the  most  delightful  effect  when  used  for 
interior  trim,  built-in  seats,  cupboards,  balus- 
trades for  the  stairways,  and  for  wainscoting, 
— providing  the  sum  set  aside  for  the  house 
admitted  such  a  luxury  as  the  last.  The  re- 
maining wall  spaces  and  the  ceilings  could  be 
!eft  in  the  rough  sand-finished  plaster,  tinted 
in  any  color  desired,  and  the  fireplace  would 
naturally  be  of  brick  or  field  stone  and  of  the 
simplest  design.  Given  such  a  foundation,  the 
question    of    furnishing    would    adjust    itself. 


NOTE  THE  EFFECT  OF  SQUARE  BUN 
WINDOWS    HIGH    UNDER    THE    EAVES 


/ 
\ 

E3 

~^> 

1 

POFecH 

■ 

FIRST    STORY    FLOOR    PLAN. 


SEC11XD    STORY    FLOOR    PL  \  N 


A    LOG   HOUSE  THAT  WILL  SERVE   EITHER    AS   A 
SUMMER   CAMP  OR   A   COUNTRY   HOME 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  March,  1007. 

EXTERIOR  OF  LOG  HOUSE,  SHOWING  DECORATIVE  USE  OF  THE    PROJECTING    ENDS    OF    PARTITION    LOGS. 


SU  many  people  like  log  houses  for  sum- 
mer homes  that  we  give  here  a  design 
that  would  harmonize  with  the  most 
primitive  surroundings.  At  the  same 
time  it  is  so  carefully  planned  and  so  well 
constructed  that  it  could  be  used  as  a  regular 
dwelling  all  the  year  round.  While  the  lines 
of  the  building  arc  simple  to  a  degree,  all 
the  proportions  are  so  calculated  and  the  de- 
tails of  the  construction  so  carefully  observed 
that,  with  all  this  simplicity  and  freedom 
from  pretense,  there  is  no  suggestion  of  bare- 
ness or  crudity.  It  is  essentially  a  log  house 
for  woodland  life,  and  it  looks  just  that ;  yet 
it  is  a  warm,  comfortable,  roomy  building  per- 
fectlv  drained  and  ventilated  and.  with  proper 
construction,  ought  to  last  for  many  genera- 
tions. 

As  the  first  step  towards  securing  good 
drainage  and  also  saving  the  lower  logs  of 
the  wall  from  decay,  there  is  an  excellent 
foundation  built  of  stone  or  cement. — accord- 
ing to  the  material  most  easily  and  econom- 
icallv  obtained. — and  this  foundation  is  quite 
as  high  as  it  would  be  in  any  dwelling  built 
of  the  conventional  materials  in  the  conven- 
tional way.     But  as  the  appearance  of  such  a 


foundation  would  spoil  the  whole  effect  of 
the  house  by  separating  it  from  the  ground 
on  which  it  stands,  it  is  almost  entirely  con- 
cealed by  terracing  the  soil  up  to  the  top  of 
it  and  therefore  to  the  level  of  the  porch 
floors.  The  first  log  of  the  walls  rest  directly 
upon  this  foundation  and  is  just  far  enough 
above  the  ground  to  prevent  rotting.  By  this 
device  perfect  healthfulness  is  secured  so  far 
as  good  drainage  is  concerned,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  wide  low  house  of  logs  appears 
ti>  rest  upon  the  ground  in  the  most  primitive 
way. 

The  logs  used  in  building  should  have  the 
bark  stripped  off  and  then  be  stained  to  a  dull 
grayish  brown  that  approaches  as  closely  as 
possible  to  the  color  of  the  bark  that  has  been 
removed.  This  does  away  entirely  with  the 
danger  of  rotting,  which  is  unavoidable  when 
the  bark  is  left  on,  and  the  stain  removes  the 
raw.  glaring  whiteness  of  the  peeled  logs  and 
restores  them  to  a  color  that  harmonizes 
with  their  surroundings.  The  best  logs  for 
this  purpose  are  from  trees  of  the  second 
growth,  which  are  easily  obtained  almost  any- 
where. They  should  be  from  nine  to  twelve 
inches    in    diameter   and    should    be    carefullv 


7-1 


A  MX  I   HOUSE 


selected  for  their  straightness  and 
symmetry. 

The  wide  porches  that  extend  all 
along  both  sides  of  the  house  afford 
plenty  of  room  for  outdoor  living. 
As  shown  in  the  picture,  one  end  "I 
the  porch  at  the  front  of  the  house 
is  recessed  to  form  a  square  dining 
porch,  which  opens  into  the  kitchen 
and  also  into  the  big  room.  This  is 
a  combined  living  room  and  indoor 
dining  room,  to  be  used  for  the 
latter  purpose  only  in  chilly  or 
stormy  weather,  if  the  house  is 
meant  for  a  summer  camp. 

The  general  effect  of  this  room 
is  in  exact  harmony  with  the  ex- 
terior of  the  house.  The  door  from 
the  porch  opens  into  an  entry  which 
on  one  side  gives  access  to  the  two 
bedrooms  at  the  front  of  the  house 
and  on  the  other  leads  by  a  wide 
opening  into  the  main  room.  The 
walls  and  partitions  are  of  logs  and 
the  ceiling  is  beamed  with  logs  flat- 
tened on  the  upper  side  to  support 
the  floor  above.  The  fireplace,  like  the  chim- 
ney outside,  is  built  of  split  stone,  a  material 
especially  suited  to  this  house,  and  is  in  a  nook 
or   recess   that   is   formed,   not   by    the   shape 


of  the  room,  but  by  the  suggestion  of  a  division 
made  by  the  two  logs  placed  one  above  the 
other  across  the  ceiling  logs,  and  the  two 
posts  that  form  the  ends  of  the  fireside  seats. 


VIEW    OF   LIVING   ROOM.    SHOWING   THE   LOG   CONSTRUCTION   WHICH   SEPARATES   THE  FIREPLACE   NOOK   FROM   THE  REST 
<>F  THE   ROOM.    \xn   ALSO  GIVING   AN   IDEA   OF  THE   EFFECT  TO  BE  Or.TAIX'ED  EY   THE   L-SE  OF  LOG   PARTITIONS. 


A  PLEASANT  AND  HOMELIKE  COTTAGE  DESIGNED 
FOR   A   SMALL  FAMILY 


Published  in  The  L 


VIEW  OF  COTTAGE  FKOM   THE  FRONT. 


FIREPLACE   AND   SEAT  IN   THE   LIVING   ROOM.    WITH    GLIMPSE    OF    HALL    AND    STAIRCASE. 

76 


COTTAGE  FOR  A  SMALL  FAMILY 


THIS  design  for  a  cottage  is  best  suited 
for  the  suburbs  or  for  a  village,  as  the 
shape  of  the  building  is  such  that  it 
needs  plenty  of  ground  around  it.  If 
it  were  built  in  the  open  country,  it  would 
look  particularly  well  on  a  large  lot  where 
there  are  plenty  of  trees,  as  for  example  the 
site  of  an  old  apple  orchard,  as  the  gnarled 
trunks  and  low  spreading  branches  would 
give  the  ideal  setting  to  a  house  like  this. 

In  the  event  of  the  house  being  built  in  a 
locality  where  field  stone  could  easily  be  ob- 
tained, it  would  be  advisable  to  use  this  ma- 
terial for  the  first  story,  as  suggested  in  the 
illustration.  The  gables  and  roof  are  shingled 
and  an  admirable  effect  could  be  produced  by 
using  rived  cypress  shingles  darkened  by  the 
application  of  diluted  sulphuric  acid.  This 
brings  out  all  the  color  in  the  wood  and  also 
brings  it  into  complete  harmony  with  the  stone. 
The  porch  at  the  front  of  the  house  is 
eight  feet  wide,  permitting  the  use  of  a  ham- 


Veirlamd^x 


mock  and  such  rustic  furniture  as  is  needed 
for  veranda  life  in  the  summer.  The  second 
and  smaller  porch  at  the  rear  of  the  house 
opens  into  the  dining  room  and  may  be  used 
as  an  outdoor  dining  room  (luring  the  warm 
months. 

The  vestibule  inside  the  entrance  door  is 
very  small,  serving  merely  to  cut  off  the 
draught  from  the  door.  This  is  one  of  our 
earlier  plans  and  has  narrower  openings  be- 
tween the  rooms.  Were  we  to  make  it  over 
now,  we  would  suggest  that  the  partition  be- 
tween the  hall  and  the  living  room  on  the  side 


FIRST  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 


SECOND  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 

toward  the  front  be  taken  away  as  far  as  the 
vestibule,  making  the  hall  a  part  of  the  living 
room.  The  narrow  passage  between  the  fire- 
side seat  and  the  staircase  could  remain  un- 
altered, or  the  post-and-panel  construction 
might  be  put  across,  making  a  doorway  in 
which  could  be  hung  a  portiere.  Although 
the  doorway  between  the  living  room  and  the 
dining  room  is  very  wide,  yet  the  division  is 
indicated  sufficiently  to  separate  the  space  in- 
to two  distinct  rooms.  If  this  arrangement 
should  be  preferred,  the  opening  could  be 
left  just  as  it  is  and  either  curtained  with 
heavy  portieres,  or  partially  filled  with  a 
large  screen  which  could  be  spread  across  or 
removed  at  will.  It  would,  however,  be  more 
in  accordance  with  the  later  Craftsman  ar- 
rangement to  remove  even  these  slight  parti- 
tions, leaving  only  the  chimneypiece  to  mark 
the  division  between  the  rooms. 


77 


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7!S 


A    COUNTRY 
LOG  CABIN 


CLUBHOUSE  THAT   IS   BUILT   LIKE  A 


W 


L  have  given  the  design  of  the  (  lub- 
house  ai  Craftsman  Farms  for  the 
use  of  country  clubs  that  may  find 

\s  we  use  it 


such  a  plan  desirable, 
ourselves,  it  will  be  the  gen- 
eral assembly  house  of  the 
whole  colony,  so  planned  that 
meals  may  be  served  either  in- 
doors or  out  on  a  big  veranda, 
according  to  the  weather,  and 
where  meetings,  lectures  and 
entertainments  of  all  kinds  may 
be  held  by  the  people  staying 
at  the  Farms  and  accommoda- 
tion provided  for  guests  invit- 
ed from  the  outside.  For  our 
own  purpose,  no  form  of  build- 
ing is  so  suitable  and  desirable 
as  a  low,  roomy  house  built  of 
logs,  and  we  imagine  that  many 
a  country  club  will  find  that 
similar  uses  and  surroundings 
seem  to  demand  a  building  of 
this  character. 

As  will  be  seen  by  compari- 
son of  the  exterior  view  of  the 
house  with  the  plan  of  the 
lower    Hour,    there    are    three 


main  divisions  in  the  building,  indicated  in 
the  perspective  drawing  b)  the  projecting  ends 
nl"  the  logs  which  form  the  log  partition  be- 
tween  the   reception    room   and    sitting   room 


FIRST    STORY    FLOOR    PLAN. 

79 


SECOND  STORY  FLOOR   PLAN. 

and  kitchen  on  the  one  side, 
and  serve  as  the  outer  wall  of 
the  house  on  the  porch  side. 
The  width  of  this  porch  is  the 
same  as  the  width  allowed  for 
the  sitting  room  and  kitchen 
and  the  center  of  the  building 
for  the  whole  length  is  taken 
up  by  the  reception  n  » >m,  which 
will  be  used  for  the  assembly 
room  or  the  indoor  dining 
room,  as  seems  necessary.  The 
porch  will  be  used  as  an  out- 
door living  room  or  dining 
room,  as  the  case  may  be,  and 
the  little  sitting  room  at  the 
back  is  meant  for  guests  who 
may  wish  some  place  apart 
from  the  general  assembly 
room  for  a  quiet  chat  with  a 
few  friends. 

The  upper  floor  is  divided 
into  guest  rooms,  with  a  com- 
fortable sitting1  room  for  ladies 


A  COUNTRY  CLUBHOUSE 


and  a  dressing  room  and  two  bathrooms,  so 
that  there  is  nol  onlj  accommodation  for 
transient  guests  but  room  for  a  few  guests 
who  may  wish  accommodation  over  night  or 
for  several  days  at  a  time. 

The  smoking  room  and  dressing  room  for 
men  are  placed  below  the  main  floor,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  building  at  Craftsman  Farms 
the  ground  slopes  sufficiently  away  from  the 
back  of  the  house  to  allow  ample  accommoda- 
tion for  these  basement  rooms.  This  slope  is 
sufficiently  steep  to  expose  the  stone  founda- 
tion to  a  depth  of  seven  or  eight  feet,  so  that 
anyone  entering  the  smoking  room  from  the 
outside  comes  in  on  a  level  instead  of  going 
down  as  into  a  basement.  Flower  boxes 
placed  between  the  pillars  around  this  end  of 
the  porch  will  afford  some  protection  where 
the  slope  is  most  abrupt. 

As  will  be  seen,  the  design  of  the  house  is 
very  simple,  the  effect  of  comfort  and  of 
ample  spaces  depending  entirely  upon  its  pro- 
portions. The  big  sweep  of  the  low  pitched, 
widely  overhanging  roof  is  broken  by  the 
broad  shallow  dormers,  which  not  only  give 
sufficient  additional  height  to  make  the  greater 
part  of  the  upper  story  habitable,  but  also 
adds    much    to   the    structural    charm    of    the 


building.  As  the  walls  of  the  upper  -i  rj  are 
of  plaster,  the  logs  being  used  after  the  man- 
ner of  half-timber  construction,  the  end-  of 
the  dormers  are  also  of  plaster  and  plaster 
panels  divide  the  groups  of  casement  win- 
dows. 

These  plaster  panels  form  one  of  the 
interesting  features  of  the  house  because  they 
put  into  effect  our  idea  of  a  form  of  exterior 
decoration  that  shall  be  symbolic  of  the  house 
itself  and  the  environment  in  which  it  stands. 
Roughly  modeled  in  low  relief,  are  figures 
symbolizing  the  life  and  industries  of  the 
farm.  Dull  colored  pigment-  will  be  used  to 
emphasize  these  figures  and  to  add  a  definite 
color  accent  to  the  house,  but  the  pigments 
will  in  all  cases  come  into  harmony  with  the 
natural  tones  of  wood,  stone  and  earth.  These 
panels  form  the  sole  decoration  that  exists 
purely  for  the  sake  of  decoration.  For  the 
rest,  the  beauty  of  the  house  depends  entire- 
ly upon  structural  features :  upon  the  case- 
ment windows,  which  are  all  uniform  in  size 
and  are  so  arranged  as  to  form  long  horizon- 
tal lines;  upon  the  use  of  the  logs  and  of 
stone  in  the  foundation  and  the  chimneys  and 
upon  the  color  harmony  of  the  whole  in  rela- 
tion to  the  prevailing  tones  of  the  landscape. 


UPSTAIRS    SITTING    ROOM,    SHOWING  THE   WRITING   TABLE  AND   SEATS   IN   THE   DORMER. 
SO 


A   PLAIN    LITTLE    CABIN    THAT    WOULD    MAKE  A 
GOOD  SUMMER    HOME   IN  THE   WOODS 


.■'!■■■■  a:  'W' V*. 


u     h  . 


wNH  ■&  Jt"';l  friai  "'ll'm *     : :'"1"" '■ '■  '• 


qJIMoW.       jJJHf**"* 


Published    in    The    <  raftsman,   November,   igo8. 

VIEW   OF  THE   FRONT   AND   SIDE,   SHOWING   CASEMENTS    HIGH    IN    THE    WALL. 


ONE  of  the  features  at  Craftsman 
Farms  is  the  housing  of  guests, 
students  and  workers  in  small 
bungalows  or  cabins  scattered 
here  and  there  through  the  woods  and  over 
the  hillside,  standing  either  singly  or  in 
groups  of  three  and  four  in  small  clearings 
made  in  the  natural  woodland.  Therefore 
'they  are  designed  especially  for  such  sur- 
roundings and  are  most  desirable  for  those 
who  wish  to  build  inexpensive  summer  or 
week-end  cottages  for  holiday  and  vacation 
use.  Of  course,  any  one  of  the  plans 
would  serve  perfectly  well  for  a  tiny  cottage 
for  two  or  three  people  to  live  in,  but  the 
design  and  general  character  of  the  build- 
ings is  hardly  adapted  to  the  ordinary 
town  lot  and  would  not  be  so  effective  in 
conventional  surroundings  as  in  the  open 
country. 

The  cottages  built  at  Craftsman  Farms 
are  meant  first  of  all  to  live  in  and  next  to 
serve  as  examples  of  a  variety  of  practical 
plans  for  small  moderately  priced  dwellings 
designed  on  the  general  order  of  the  bun- 
galow. They  will  be  built  of  stone,  brick, 
or  any  one  of  a  number  of  our  native 
woods  suitable  for  such  construction  and 
will  be  as  comfortable,  beautiful  and  in- 
teresting as  we  can  make  them,  each  one 
being  specially   planned    for   its  own   use. 


KlTCHEn 


9'0" 


lo 


A 


BflDROon 

116.46 


uvinc  naDr\ 

16   6"  v  130 


BEDROOM 


12.   0" 

*!V6- 

PODCn 

2.5   O  .   6    0 


o 


o 


o 


o 


FLOOR   PLAN. 


SI 


82 


A     BUNGALOW     BUILT 
FACING    THE    WATER 


ARC  )UND     A     COURTYARD 


OX  K  of  our  earliest  designs 
i-  shown  in  this  bungali  iv\ , 
which  has  proven  vcr\  pop 
ular  for  summer  homes,  es- 
pecially where  they  are  built  on  the 
shore  of  a  lake  or  river;  for  the 
chief  characteristic  of  the  design  is 
an  inner  court,  <ir  patio,  which  looks 
directly  out  upon  the  water.  The 
bungalow  is  built  around  three  sides 
of  this  courtyard, — an  arrangement 
which  carries  with  ii  a  suggestion 
of  the  old  Mission  architecture  of 
California. 

The  original  design  was  for  a 
house  with  shingled  walls,  but  the 
construction  is  equally  suitable  for 
stone,  brick,  or  concrete.  The  ma- 
terial chosen,  of  course,  would  de- 
pend entirely  upon  the  locality  and 
the  taste  of  the  owner.  Were  we 
designing  it  now,  wc  would  proba- 
bly suggest  concrete,  as  the  form  of 
the  house,  with  its  straight  walls 
and  simple  lines,  is  well  suited  to 
this  material,  and  also  because  this 
method  of  construction  is  comparatively  in- 
expensive as  well  as  substantial  and  durable. 
If  the  walls  were  finished  with  rough  plaster 
or  pebbledash  surface,  the  effect  would  be  ad- 
mirable, especially  for  the  woods,  if  a  little 
dull  green  pigment  were  brushed  on  irregu- 
larly, giving  a  general  tone  of  green  that  yet 
is  not  a  solid  smooth  color. 

The  central  court  as  shown  here  is  paved 
with  stone,  but  this  would  be  only  in  case  of 
stone  or  shingle  construction.  For  either  brick 
or  concrete  it  would  be  best  to  pave  the  court 
with  cement  colored  a  dull  red  and  marked 
oft  into  squares.  This  has  much  the  appear- 
ance of  Welsh  quarry  tiles  and  is  much  less 
expensive.  Provision  has  been  made  in  the 
center  of  the  court  for  a  basin,  in  the  middle 
of  which  a  pile  of  rocks  affords  opportunity 
for  a  fountain  or  trickling  cascade,  while  the 
pool  furnishes  an  admirable  place  for  the 
growth  of  aquatic  plants.  The  court  can  either 
be  paved  clear  up  to  the  pool  as  shown  in  the 
picture,  or  the  pavement  may  stop  just  outside 
the  pillars,  leaving  the  center  of  the  courtyard 
for  turf.  In  either  case  the  patio  is  meant  to 
be  furnished  for  use  as  an  outdoor  living  room, 
such  as  is  so  frequently  seen  in  the  courtyard- 


FLOOR    PLAN*. 


of  California  houses. 
a  camp  in  the  woods 


If  the  house  is  built  for 
the  pillars  around  this 
courtyard  would  best  lie  made  of  peeled  logs 
left  in  the  natural  shape  and  stained  back  to 
the  color  of  the  bark.  For  more  conventional 
use,  heavy  round  pillars  of  concrete  or  of  wood 
painted  white  would  naturally  be  used.  These 
details,  however,  are  always  ruled  by  the  lo- 
calitv.  the  materials  used  for  building  and  the 
taste  of  the  builder. 

The  arrangement  of  the  interior  is  very  sim- 
ple, as  from  the  entrance  hall  one  turns  toward 
the  right  into  the  living  room,  which  occupies 
half  the  front  of  the  building.  Just  back  of 
the  living  room  in  the  wing  is  the  dining  room 
and  back  of  this  again  is  the  kitchen.  Turn- 
ing to  the  left  from  the  hall,  a  small  passage 
leads  to  one  of  the  bedrooms,  and  the  other 
two  bedrooms  and  the  bathroom  occupy  the 
whole  length  of  the  wing.  All  of  these  rooms 
open  out  upon  a  central  court  and  all  are 
lighted  from  the  outside  by  casements  set  high 
in  the  wall.  Fireplaces  are  plentiful,  the  chim- 
neys being  so  arranged  that  one  is  allowed  for 
each  bedroom  and  one  for  the  living  room. 
This  being  almost  opposite  the  dining  room, 
or  rather  alcove,  serves  for  that  room  as  well. 


s:: 


S4 


A   RUSTIC  CABIN  THAT    IS    MEANT  FOR   A   WEEK 
END  COTTAGE  OR   A   VACATION   HOME 


.  '  x 


M0mm  0    "  w^''wmmm^^ 


& 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  November,  190S. 

FRONT   VIEW   OF   CABIN, 


SHOWING   DECORATIVE    USE   OF    TRUSS  IN   THE  GABLE 


THIS  is  another  example  of  the  cottages 
built  at  Craftsman  Farms  and  is  some- 
what larger  than  the  stone  cabin  shown 
on  page  81,  as  it  con- 
tains a  bathroom  and  a  re- 
cessed porcli  which  serves 
as  an  open  air  dining  room, 
in  addition  to  the  living 
room,  two  bedrooms  and 
kitchen  provided  in  the 
smaller  cottage. 

The  walls  are  sheathed 
with  boards  eight  or  ten 
inches  wide  and  seven- 
eighths  of  an  inch  thick. 
A  truss  of  hewn  timber  in 
each  gable,  projecting  a  foot 
and  a  half  from  the  face  of 
the  wall,  not  only  gives  add- 
ed support  to  the  roof,  but 
forms  a  decorative  feature 
that  relieves  the  extreme 
simplicity  of  the  construc- 
tion. The  casement  win- 
dows are  all  hung  so  they 
will  swing  outward  and  are 
mostly  small  and  set  rather 
high  in  the  wall.  At  the 
ends  of  the  building  these 
casements  are  protected  by 
simple     shutters,     each     one 


made  of  two  wide  boards  with  either  heart 
shaped  or  circular  piercing.  These  solid  shut- 
ters provide  ample  shelter  in  severe  weather. 


FLOOR   PLAN. 


8.) 


A  BUNGALOW  DESIGNED  FOR   A  MOUNTAIN  CAMP 
OR   SIMMER    HOME 


Published  in    The   Craftsman,   March,   1905. 

HEAR   VIEW   OE    BUNGALOW,   WITH   VERANDA   LOOKING   TOWARD  THE    WATER. 

S  this  bungalow  is  meant  either  for  the  woods,  the  moun- 
tains, or  the  open  country,  where  the  cost  of  land  does 
not  have  to  be  considered,  it  spreads  over  a  good  deal  of 
ground.     The  eastern  wing  has  a  frontage  of  sixty-four 
feet  and  the  western  of  forty-four  feet,  the  verandas  being  re- 
spectively twelve  and  ten  feet.    Also  the  probable  environment  of 
such  a  building  determines  the  character  of  the  exterior.     As  we 
have  planned  it,  this  bungalow  is  built  of  rugged  field  stones  set 
at  random,  with  all  the  weather  stains  and  accretions  of  moss  and 
lichens  left  to  add  to  the  color  value.     The  site  suggested  here 
gives  a  southern   and   western   exposure  to   the   wide    verandas 
which  front  a  lake.     The  building  itself  faces  toward  the  north- 
west.    Of  the  two  wings,  the  eastern,  containing  the  bedrooms, 
extends  into  the  wooded  portion  of  the  land 
in   order  to  insure  protection  and   coolness ; 
while  the  west  wing  looks  toward  the  lake. 

The  interior  of  this  bungalow  is  divided 
into  a  living  room,  a  kitchen  and  three  bed- 
rooms.  The  living  room  is  large  and  com- 
fortably arranged,  the  idea  being  v>  give  it 
a  character  in  harmony  with  the  plan,  pur- 
pose and  exterior  effect  of  the  building. 

The  kitchen  is  planned  so  that  meals  may 
be  served  in  it  in  bad  weather.  Ordinarily 
the  meals  would  be  served  in  the  sheltered 
corner  of  the  veranda.  The  whole  eastern 
wing  is  given  up  to  the  bedrooms  which  are 
all  entered  from  the  veranda,  and  overhead 
floor  plan,   >s  a  large  storage  attic. 


86 


A  M<)(  \T.\I.\  (AMP  OK  SUMMER  IIOMK 


FRONT  VIEW  OF   BUNGALOW,   SEEN   FROM    THE   LAND. 


CHIMNEYPIECE   AND   FIRESIDE    NOOK    IN    THE   LIVING   ROOM.       XOTE   THE   USE   OF  LOGS   FOR   OVERHEAD    BEAMS    AND  OF 
WIDE   V-JOINTED   BOARDS    FOR    THE    WALLS    AND    SEAT. 


ST 


A     CONVENIENT      BUNGALOW     WITH      SEPARATE 
KITCHEN    AND    OPEN    AIR    DINING    ROOM 


Published   in   the  Craftsman,  .-If'1,  '906. 
FRONT     WD    REAR    VIEWS    OF    COTTAGE,   THE    FIRST    SHOWING  RECESSED  ENTRANCE  PORCH   AND  THE  SECOND  THE  OPEN- 
AIR    DINING    ROOM     Willi   II     SEPARATES    THE     KITCHEN     FROM   THE    MAIN    PART  OF  THE    HOUSE. 

88 


A  BUNGALOW  AY1TII  OPEN-AIR  DINING  ROOM 


FOR  any  place,  whether  mountain  or  valley,  that  is 
really  *'  in  the  country,"  the  hest  form  of  summer 
home  is  the  bungalow.  Ii  is  a  house  reduced  to 
its  simplest  form,  where  life  may  be  carried  on 
with  the  greatest  amount  of  freedom  and  comfort  and 
the  least  amount  of  effort.  It  never  fails  to  harmonize 
with  its  surroundings,  because  its  low  broad  propor- 
tions and  absolute  lack  of  ornamentation  give  it  a  char- 
acter so  natural  and  unaffected  that  it  seems  to  sink  into 
and  blend  with  any  landscape.  It  may  be  built  of  any 
local  material  and  with  the  aid  of  such  help  as  local 
workmen  can  afford,  so  it  is  never  expensive  unless 
elaborated  out  of  all  kinship  with  its  real  character  of  a 
primitive  dwelling.  It  is  beautiful,  because  it  is  planned 
and  built  to  meet  simple  needs  in  the  sim- 
plest and  most  direct  way  ;  and  it  is  indi- 
vidual for  the  same  reason,  as  no  two  fami- 
lies have  tastes  and  needs  alike. 

The  bungalow  illustrated  here  is  designed 
on  the  purest  Craftsman  lines.  The  material 
we  have  suggested  is  cedar  shingles  through- 
out with  a  foundation  and  chimney  of  rough 
gray  stone.  No  cellar  is  provided,  but  the 
walls  have  a  footing  below  the  frost  line 
and  space  under  the  floor  for  ventilation. 
The  building  is  in  the  form  of  a  T,  the  main 
portion  covering  a  space  twenty- four  by 
forty  feet  and  the  extension  at  the  back 
fourteen  by  thirty-six  feet.  The  low- 
pitched,  widely  overhanging  roof  gives  a 
settled,  sheltered  look  to  the  building,  and  this 
is  emphasized  even  more  by  the  deeplv  recessed 
porch  in  front,  which  is  meant  to  be  used  by 
a  small  outdoor  sitting  room.     The  porch  be- 


FI.OOR    PLAN. 


tween  the  kitchen  and  the  main  part  of  the 
house  is  really  a  portion  of  the  extension  left 
with  open  sides  and  is  intended  for  an  outdoor 
dining  room  that  shall  be  sufficiently  sheltered 


RECESSED  ENTRANCE  PORCH,  SHOWING  DOOR  WITH  THUMB  LATCH  AND  HEAVY  STRAP  HINGES  OF  WROUGHT  IRON; 
ALSO  THE  INTERESTING  USE  OF  HEAVY  TIMBERS  IN  THE  DOOR  AND  WINDOW  FRAMING,  WHERE  THE  BEAM  ACROSS 
THE   TOP   BINDS    THE    ENTIRE    GROUP    INTO    A    L'NIT. 


89 


A   BUNGALOW   WITH   OPENiAIR   DIM\(;    ROOM 


END  OF  LIVING  ROOM,  SHOWING  BALCONY,  FIRESIDE  NOOK   WITH   CHIMNEYPIECE   AND   ARRANGEMENT   OF    STAIRCASE. 


ARRANGEMENT   OF    CUPBOARDS,    WORK    SHELF    AND 
DOWS    IN    KITCHEN. 


from  storms  to  allow  the  outdoor  life  to  go  on 
through  any  sort  of  weather. 

The  living  room  occupies  the  whole  center  of 
the  house,  except  for  the  recessed  porch  in 
front,  and  it  is  one  of  the  best  examples  of  the 
Craftsman  idea  of  the  decorative  value  that 
lies  in  revealing  the  actual  construction  of  the 


building. 


Everyone  knows  the  sense  of  space 
a  ceiling  that  follows 
the  line  of  the  roof.  It  seems  to  add  materially 
to  the  size  of  the  room  and  when  it  is  of  wood 
it  gives  the  keynote  for  a  most  friendly  and 
restful  color  scheme.  In  this  case  the  whole 
room  is  of  wood,  save  for  the  rough  gray 
plaster  of  the  walls  and  the  stone  of  the  fire- 
place. A  balcony  runs  across  one  side,  serving 
the  double  purpose  of  recessing  the  fireplace 


and  freedom  given  bv 


90 


A  BUNGALOW   WITH    OPEN-AIR    DINING    ROOM 


OPEN-AIR   DINING   ROOM  :     NOTE    CONSTRUCTION    OF    THE    ROOF  AND  PROPORTION  OF  THE  SIDE  OPENINGS   AND  PARAPET. 


into  a  comfortable  and  inviting  nook,  and  of 
affording  a  small  retreat  whicn  may  be  used 
as  a  study  or  lounging  place,  or  as  an  extra 
sleeping  place  in  case  of  an  overflow  of  guests, 
or  even  as  a  storage  place  for  trunks.  Its  uses 
are  many,  but  its  value  as  an  addition  to  the 
beauty  of  the  room  is  always  the  same. 

The  sleeping  rooms,  four  in  number,  occupy 
the  two  ends  of  the  main  building.  They  are 
all  of  ample  size  for  camp  life,  and  are  plas- 
tered, walls  and  ceiling.  The  dining  porch 
is  one  of  the  most  distinctive  features  of  the 
bungalow.  It  occupies  just  half  of  the  exten- 
sion and  completely  separates  the  kitchen  from 
the  main  part  of  the  house.  The  kitchen  is 
well  open  to  air  and  light.  Instead  of  a  pantry 
the  whole  of  one  side  is  occupied  by  cupboards 
amply  supplied  with  shelves  and  drawers. 


AN    OPEN    FIRE    IN    ONE   OF    THE    BEDROOMS. 


!)1 


A  COTTAGE   PLANNED   WITH  A   SPECIAL  IDEA   TO 
ECONOMICAL  HEATING 


"!>»£     LiriHA  TCC&r 


Published   in   The  Craftsman,   ftlarch,  100}. 

NOTE  THE  USE  OF  THE  BAY  WINDOW  ON  THE  LOWER  FLOOR  AND  THE  DORMER  ABOVE  TO  ADD  TO  THE  STRUCTURAL 
INTEREST  OF  THIS  PLAIN  LITTLE  DWELLING.  THE  INTERIOR  IS  CAREFULLY  PLANNED  TO  GIVE  THE  MOST  CONVENIENT 
ARRANGEMENT  OF  ROOMS  AND  TO  UTILIZE  ALL  THE  SPACE,  SO  THAT  THERE  IS  MORE  ROOM  IN  THE  HOUSE  THAN 
MIGHT  BE   EXPECTED  FROM  THE  SPACE  OCCUPIED.   WHICH    IS    THIRTY    FEET    FRONT    BY    TWENTY-TWO    FEET   DEEP. 


92 


A  COTTAGE  THAT  COMES  WITHIN  THE   LIMITS  OF 
VERY  MODERATE  MEANS 


ran.  Lrvms  jcc: ji*i 


I  illgp 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  March,  1905. 

A  COTTAGE  WITH  A  FRONTAGE  OF  THIRTY-FOUR  FEET  AND  A  DEPTH  OF  TWENTY-FOUR  FEET.  IT  IS  ARRANGED  SO  THAT 
THE  ROOMS  ARE  A  TRIFLE  LARGER  THAN  THOSE  IN  THE  COTTAGE  SHOWN  ON  THE  PRECEDING  PAGE,  AS  NO  SPACE  IS 
TAKEN  OFF  FOR  A  VERANDA.  THE  COST  OF  THE  TWO  BUILDINGS  IS  ABOUT  THE  SAME  AND  COMES  WITHIN  VERY 
MODERATE   MEANS. 


93 


o 


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s     5 


ai 

£ 

; 

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5 

K 

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PS 

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X 

> 

W 

o 

9+ 


A  COUNTRY  HOUSE  THAT  WAS  ORIGINALLY  PLAN 
NED  FOR  A  MOUNTAIN  CAMP 


ALTHOUGH  tin's  house  would  serve 
anywhere  as  a  country  dwelling  for 
people  who  like  this  style  of  building, 
it  was  originally  intended  for  a 
camp  in  the  Adirondacks,  the  object  of  the 
design  being  to  build  a  house  that  would  be 
permanent,  and  at  the  same  time  would  have 
the  openness  and  freedom  of  a  tent,  where 
the  family  could  live  out  of  doors  and  vet 
have  immunity  from  flies,  mosquitoes  and 
kindred  pests.  Being  a  camp,  it  is  naturally 
not  an  expensive  building,  as  the  plan  is 
simple  and  the  materials  about  the  site 
would  naturally  be  used.  Our  constant 
dwelling  upon  this  point  might  seem  super- 
fluous, but  the  fact  that  not  long  ago  a  noted 
architect  built  a  house  of  stone  in  the  clay- 
bearing  State  of  Virginia  and  another  of 
brick  in  the  granite-ribbed  State  of  Maine. 
The  word  camp  is  suggestive,  causing 
the  mind  instantly  to  revert  to  a  large  par- 
ade ground,  with  the  orderlv  arrangement 
of  kitchens  in  the  rear,  the  radial  axis, 
and  the  sense  of  order  and  openness.  There- 
fore the  arrangement  of  this  camp  has  been 
made  with  this  in  mind ;  the  great  hall  serves 
for  the  place  of  general  gathering, — 
the  place  where,  when  the  duties  or  g 
pleasures  of  the  day  are  over,  all  mav 


meet  on  common  ground.  This,  with  the 
kitchen  and  dining  room  in  the  rear,  makes 
for    convenience,    largeness    and    economy    of 


ZEEF&=ze«z£. 


=5J 


FIRST  STORY  FLOOR  PLAN. 


SECOND 
STORY 
FLOOR  PLAN. 

space.  There  is  an  upstairs ;  as  sleeping 
rooms,  if  in  direct  connection  with  the 
rooms  and  arrangements  already  mention- 
ed, would  interfere  and  be  interfered  with 
seriously.  Economy  also  has  its  part,  for 
the  roof  which  covers  one  story  will  serve 
equally  well  to  cover  two.  In  laying  out 
the  floors  below,  no  account  has  been  taken 
of  privacy  for  the  immediate  family.  There- 
fore on  the  upper  floor  there  is  a  large  room 
provided  for  with  the  sleeping  rooms 
grouped  about  it. 

The  floor  plans  give  a  clear  idea  of  the 
arrangement.  The  dropping  back  of  the 
outside  walls  to  form  second  story  balcon- 
ies or  loggias  takes  up  a  good  deal  of  the 
floor  space  on  the  second  story,  so  that  the 
bedrooms  are  rather  small.  This,  however, 
is  hardly  to  be  considered  a  fault  in  a 
building  of  this  kind,  because  the  loggias 
are  screened  to  serve  as  sleeping  porches : 
It  is  also  quite  possible  to  screen  or  parti- 
tion each  loggia  to  make  four  separate  out- 
door sleeping  rooms,  or  they  could  be 
divided  in  part  and  the  rest  used  for  an 
outside  sitting  room.  These  screens  should 
be  removable  at  will,  so  that  they  can  be 
stored  during  the  winter  months. 


95 


=    Z 

-     - 


<    O 

£  < 


96 


PORCHES,  PERGOLAS  AND  TERRACES:  THE  CHARM 
OF  LIVING  OUT  OF  DOORS 


IN  these  days  when  the  question  of  light  and 
air  is  of  so  much  importance  in  the  plan- 
ning of  the  home,  the  tendency  is  more 
and  more  toward  the  provision  of  ample 
room  for  as  much  open-air  life  as  possible. 
In  all  the  Craftsman  houses,  as  well  as  in  the 
best  modern  dwellings  of  other  styles,  the 
veranda,  whether  open  in  summer  or  enclosed 
for  a  sun  room  in  winter,  is  one  of  the  prom- 
inent features.  Partly  for  convenience  in  en- 
closing with  glass  if  desired,  but  mainly  to  in- 
sure the  pleasant  sense  of  privacy  that  means 
such  a  large  part  of  the  comfort  of  home, 
these  porches  or  verandas  are  usually  recessed 
so  that  they  are  partially  protected  by  the 
walls  of  the  house  and  are  further  sheltered 
by  the  copings  and  flower  boxes.  In  a  front 
porch  which  must  serve  for  a  sitting  room  as 
well  as  an  entrance,  the  coping,  surmounted  by 
flower  boxes,  acts  as  a  screen  and,  with  the  aid 
of  a  generous  growth  of  vines,  serves  as  a 
very  satisfactory  shelter  from  the  street.  Where 
there  is  also  a  garden  veranda  it  can  be  made 
into  a  charming  outdoor  living  or  dining  room 


both  for  summer  and  for  mild  days  in  winter 
by  being  so  recessed  and  protected  that  it  is 
like  a  summer  house  or  an  outdoor  room  al- 
ways open  to  the  sun  and  air. 

<  lutdoor  living  and  dining  rooms,  to  be 
homelike  and  comfortable,  should  be  equipped! 
with  all  that  is  necessary  for  daily  use  so  as 
to  avoid  the  carrying  back  and  forth  of  tables, 
chairs  and  the  like,  as  when  the  veranda  is 
used  only  occasionally.  It  goes  without  say- 
ing that  the  furniture  should  be  plain  and 
substantial,  fitted  for  the  rugged  outdoor  life 
and  able  to  stand  the  weather.  Indian  rugs 
or  Navajo  blankets  lend  a  touch  of  comfort 
and  cheer,  and  the  simple  designs  and  primi- 
tive colors  harmonize  as  well  with  trees  and 
vines  and  the  open  sky  as  they  do  with  their 
native  wigwams.  'Willow  chairs  and  settles 
seem  to  belong-  naturally  to  life  in  the  garden, 
and  with  a  few  light  tables,  a  book  rack  or  two- 
and  plenty  of  hammocks,  the  veranda  has  all 
the  sense  of  peace  and  permanency  that  should 
belong  to  a  living  room,  whether  indoors  or 
out,  that  is  habitually  used  by  the   familv. 


Published  in  The   Craftsman,   June,   1905. 
COURTYARD    AND   PERGOLA,    SHOWING   DECORATIVE   EFFECT    OF    THE    CENTRAL    SQUARE   OF    TURF    WITH    ITS    FOUNTAIN, 
SHRUBS    AND    ROCKS    AND    THE    COMFORT    OF    THE    VINE-SHADED   PORCH   WHEN   FURNISHED  FOR   USE  AS  AN   OUTDOOR; 
LIVING   ROOM. 


97 


PORCHES,   PEKCOLAS   AM)   TERRACES 


Published  in   The  Craftsman,  November,  1906. 

PORCH  THAT  NOT  ONLY  SERVES  AS  A  DESIRABLE  ENTRANCE  BUT  GREATLY  INCREASES  THE  STRUCTURAL  INTEREST 
OF  THE  FRONT  OF  THE  HOUSE.  THE  WINDOWS  ON  EITHER  SIDE  PROJECT  SLIGHTLY  FROM  THE  WALL  IN  A  SHALLOW 
BAY  AND  THE  ENTRANCE  D60R  WITH  ITS  CASEMENTS  ON  EITHER  SIDE  PROJECTS  STILL  FARTHER.  THE  PORCH  IS 
COMPARATIVELY  NARROW  AND  THE  ROOF  IS  SUPPORTED  BY  TWO  HEAVY  PILLARS  OF  WOOD  PAINTED  WHITE.  WHICH 
SERVE  TO  GIVE  ACCENT  TO  THE  DARKER  TONES  OF  THE  SHINGLES,  EXTERIOR  WOODWORK  AND  STONE  FOUNDATION. 
THE  WALLS  ARE  SHEATHED  WITH  CYPRESS  SHINGLES  THAT  ARE  OILED  AND  LEFT  TO  WEATHER,  AND  THE  WOOD- 
WORK OF  THE  ROOF,  DOOR  AND  WINDOW  FRAMINGS  AND  BALUSTRADE  IS  IN  A  DARKER  TONE  OF  BROWN.  THE  USE 
OF   SPINDLES   FOR   EXTERIOR    WOODWORK    IS    SHOWN    IN   THE   BALUSTRADE. 


98 


PORCHES,   PERGOLAS   AND    TERRACES 


Published    in    The   Craftsman,    September,   1906. 

ENTRANCE  PORCH  FITTED  UP  FOR  AN  OUTDOOR  LIVING  ROOM.  FLOOR  OF  WELSH  QUARRIES  COVERED  WITH  A  LARGE 
RUG  INTENDED  TO  STAND  ROUGH  USAGE  AND  EXPOSURE  TO  THE  WEATHER.  THE  BEAMED  CEILING  IS  FORMED  BY 
THE   EXPOSED  RAFTERS    AND   THE    PORCH   IS    PARTIALLY   SHELTERED   BY  THE  PARAPET. 


99 


PORCHES,   PERGOLAS   AND   TERRACES 


■ 


Published  in   The   Craftsman,  May,   lgo6. 

ENTRANCE  PORCH  TO  A  HOUSE  BUILT  OF  ROUGH  CAST  CEMENT.  THE  WOODEN  PILLARS  ARE  PAINTED  PURE  WHITE 
AND  ARE  VERY  THICK  AND  MASSIVE  IN  PROPORTION  TO  THEIR  HEIGHT.  THE  RAFTERS  ARE  LEFT  IN  VIEW  WHERE 
THEY  SUPPORT  THE  ROOF  AND  A  HEAVY  BEAM  RUNNING  THE  LENGTH  OF  THE  PORCH  SERVES  TO  UPHOLD  THE 
RAFTERS.  SQUARE  MASSIVE  CROSS-BEAMS  EXTEND  FROM  THE  PILLARS  TO  THE  WALL,  WHERE  THE  ENDS  ARE  SUNK 
IN  THE  FRAMING  OF  THE  HOUSE.  THE  FLOOR  AND  STEPS  ARE  OF  CEMENT  COLORED  A  DARK  RED  AND  MARKED  OFF 
IN    BLOCKS    LIKE    TILES. 


100 


PORCHES.    PERGOLAS    AND   TERRACES 


Published   in    The  Craftsman,  November,  1904. 
RECESSED  PORCH  AT  REAR  OF  HOUSE,  SHOWING  RELATION  OF  THE   PORTION   THAT  IS   SHELTERED  TO  THE  OPEN   TERRACE 
THAT    EXTENDS    BEYOND    THE    ROOF    AND   GIVES    SUFFICIENT    SPACE    FOR    AN    OUTDOOR    LIVING    ROOM   THAT    IS    PARTLY 
OPEN  TO   THE   SKY. 


Published   in    The    Craftsman,    August,   1905. 

RECESSED   ENTRANCE   PORCH    FURNISHED   AS  AN   OUTDOOR    LIVING   ROOM    THAT   IS    PARTLY   SHELTERED    BY   THE    WALLS 
ANB    PARTLY    SCREENED    BY    VINES. 

101 


THE  EFFECTIVE  USE  OF  COBBLESTONES  AS  A   LINK 
BETWEEN  HOUSE  AND  LANDSCAPE 


IN  the  building  of  modern  country  homes 
there  seems  to  be  no  end  to  the  adapta- 
bility of  cobblestones  and  boulders  in 
connection  with  the  sturdier  kinds  of 
building  material,  for,  if  rightly  placed  with 
regard  to  the  structure  and  the  surroundings, 
they  can  be  brought  into  harmony  with  nearly 
every  style  of  architecture  that  has  about  it 
any  semblance  of  ruggedness,  especially  if  the 
surrounding  country  be  hilly  and  uneven  in 
contour  and  blessed — or  cursed — with  a  plen- 
tiful crop  of  stones. 


effect  of  a  loose  pile  ol  tones.  Very  few 
houses  that  arc:  possible  for  modern  civilized 
life, — outside  of  the  mountain  camp — are  suf- 
ficiently rough  and  primitive  in  construction 
to  be  exactly  in  harmony  with  the  use  of  cob- 
ble-, and  always  there  is  a  slight  sense  of 
effort  when  they  are  brought  into  close  rela- 
tion with  finished  structure. 

Nevertheless  the  popularity  of  cobblestones 
and  boulders  for  foundations,  pillar-,  chimneys 
and  even  for  such  interior  use  as  chimney- 
piece  .  is  unquestioned  and  in  many  cases  the 


•  .    -  ^Published  in  The  Craftsman,  November,  looS,  Hunt  Sr  Eager,  Architects. 
CEMENT    PAVED    TERRACE   OF    A    CALIFORNIA    HOUSE,    SHOWING    EFFECT    OF    COBBLESTONES    IN     WALLS    AND    PILLARS. 
AND  THE  WAY  THEY   HARMONIZE   WITH  THE  ROUGH    SHINGLE    AND   TIMBER   CONSTRUCTION. 


We  have  never  specially  advocated  the  use 
of  cobblestones  in  the  building  of  Craftsman 
houses,  for  as  a  rule  we  have  found  that  the 
best  effects  from  a  structural  point  of  view- 
can  be  obtained  by  using  the  split  stones  in- 
stead of  the  smaller  round  cobbles.  Splitting 
the  stone  brings  into  prominence  all  the  inter- 
esting colors  that  are  to  be  found  in  field 
rubble  and  it  is  astonishing  what  a  variety  and 
richness  of  coloring  is  revealed  when  the  stone 
is  split  apart  so  that  the  inner  markings  ap- 
pear. Also  a  better  structural  line  can  be 
obtained  when  foundation  and  pillars  are  clear- 
ly   defined    instead   of    having   somewhat    the 


effect  is  very  interesting.  There  is  growing 
up  in  this  country,  especially  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  a  style  of  house  that  seems  to  come 
naturally  into  harmony  with  this  sort  of  stone 
work,  and  there  is  no  denying  that  when  the 
big  rough  stones  and  cobbles  are  used  with 
taste  and  discrimination,  they  not  only  give 
great  interest  to  the  construction,  but  serve 
to  connect  the  building  very  closely  with  the 
surrounding  landscape. 

The  fact  that  we  have  found  the  best  ex- 
amples of  this  natural  use  of  boulders  and 
cobbles  in  California  seems  to  be  due  largely 
to  the  influence  of  Japanese  architecture  over 


10-2 


THE   EFFECTIVE   USE   OF   COBBLESTONES 


Published  in   The   L  raftsman,  N ovember,  igoS,  Hunt  &  Eager,  Architects. 

VERANDA  AND  TERRACE  OF  THE  SAME  HOUSE,  GIVING  A  GOOD  IDEA  OF  THE  WAY  COBBLESTONES  MAY  SERVE  TO 
LINK  THE  HOUSE  WITH  THE  SURROUNDING  LANDSCAPE.  THE  EFFECT  OF  THE  RUGGED  FORM  OF  PILLARS  AND  PARAPET 
IN    CONNECTION    WITH    THE    SHINGLES    OF   THE   WALL    AND  THE  LACY  FOLIAGE  OF  THE  TREE  IS  ESPECIALLY  STRIKING. 


Kill 


THE   EFFECTIVE    USE   OF   COBBLESTONES 


Published  in   The   Craftsman,   July,   igoj,   Greene  &   Greene.   Architects. 

A  CALIFORNIA  HOUSE  MODELED  AFTER  THE  JAPANESE  STYLE.  WITH  HIGH  RE- 
TAINING WALL  IN  WHICH  THE  USE  OF  COBBLESTONES  HAS  PROVEN  ESPECIALLY 
DECORATIVE. 


the  new  building  art  that  is  developing  so 
rapidly  in  the  West.  In  these  buildings  the 
use  of  stone  in  this  form  is  as  inevitable  in 
its  fitness  as  the  grouping  of  rocks  in  a  Japan- 
ese garden,  for  on  the  one  hand  the  construc- 
tion of  the  house  itself  is  usually  of  a  character 
that    permits    such    a    use    of    stone    without 


danger  of  incongruity,  and 
"i!  the  other  hand  the  stone 
is  usually  employed  in  a 
way  that  brings  the  entire 
building  into  the  closest 
relationship  with  its  en- 
vironment. 

The  cobblestones  used 
for  the  houses  of  this  kind 
are  of  varying  sizes.  To 
give  the  best  effect  they 
should  be  neither  too  small 
nor  too  large.  Stones  rang- 
ing from  two  and  one  half 
inches  in  diameter  for  the 
minimum  size  to  six  or 
seven  inches  in  diameter 
for  the  maximum  size  are 
found  to  be  most  generally 
suitable.  Such  stones,  which 
belong  of  course  to  the 
limestone  variety,  and  are 
irregularly  rounded,  can 
usually  be  obtained  with- 
out trouble  in  almost  any 
locality  where  there  are 
any  stones  at  all.  picked  up 
from  rocky  pasture  land 
or  a  dry  creek  bottom.  The 
tendency  of  builders  is  to 
select  the  whitest  stones 
and  the  most  nearly  round 
that  are  obtainable. 

This,  however,  applies 
only  to  the  regular  cobble- 
stone construction  as  we 
know  it  in  the  East. 
In  California  the  designers 
are  much  more  daring,  for 
they  are  fond  of  using 
large  mossy  boulders  in 
connection  with  both  brick 
and  cobbles.  The  effect  of 
this  is  singularly  interest- 
ing both  in  color  and  form, 
for  the  warm  purplish 
brown  of  the  brick  contrasts  delightfully  with 
the  varying  tones  of  the  boulders  covered 
with  moss  and  lichen,  and  the  soft  natural 
grays  and  browns  of  the  more  or  less 
primitive  wood  construction  that  is  almost 
invariably  used  in  connection  with  cobbles 
gives   tlie   general   effect   of   a   structure   that 


104 


THE    EFFECTIVE    USE   OF   COBBLESTONES 


Published   in    The  (  raftsman,   April.    igoS,   ( 


PERGOLA,  POKCH  AND  ENTRANCE  OK  A  COUNTRY  HOUSE  AT  RIUC.EFIELD.  CONNECTICUT.  THE  FOUNDATION  AND  FIRST 
STORY  OF  THE  HOUSE  ARE  OF  FIELD  RUBBLE  SET  IN  CEMENT,  AND  THE  SECOND  STORY  IS  BUILT  OF  OVER-BURNED 
BRICK  WITH  HALF-TIMBER  CONSTRUCTION,  GIVING  A  DELIGHTFUL  COLOR  EFFECT.  THE  HOUSE  AND  GARDEN  ARE  SO 
LINKED  TOGETHER  THAT  THE  FIRST  IMPRESSION  IS  THAT  OF  PERFECT  HARMONY  AND  CLOSE  RELATIONSHIP,  AN 
IMPRESSION  THAT  IS  GREATLY    HEIGHTENED  BY  THE  USE    MADE   OF   THE   LOCAL    STONE. 


105 


THE   EFFECTIVE   USE    OF   COBBLESTONES 


Published   in    The   Craftsman,  July,   1907,    Greene   &   Greene.   Architects. 
CONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  PERGOLA   AND  ESPLANADE  LEADING  TO  THE  ENTRANCE  OF 
A    CALIFORNIA    HOUSE.       NOTE   THE    COMBINATION     OF    LARGE     MOSSY     BOULDERS 
WITH    HARD-BURNED  CLINKER    BRICK    SET  IRREGULARLY   IN   DARK    MORTAR. 


has  almost  grown  up  out  of  the  ground,  so  per- 
fectly does  it  sink  into  the  landscape  around  it. 
The  same  effect  is  being  sought  more  and 
more  in  the  East  by  certain  daring  and  pro- 
gressive architects  who,  without  regard  to  style 
and  precedent,  are  building  houses  suited  to 
the  climate,  the  soil  and  the  needs  of  life  in  this 
country.    An  excellent  example  of  this  is  shown 

106 


in  the  illustration  on  page 
105,  where  hard-burm-d 
brick  and  natural  wood 
are  most  effectively  com- 
bined with  big  rugged 
boulders  and  the  large 
round  slabs  of  stone  that 
serve  as  steps.  These 
stones,  by  their  very  con- 
formation, proclaim 
themselves  as  belonging 
to  New  England,  and  the 
manner  in  which  they  are 
used  is  as  definitely  East- 
ern as  the  construction  of 
the  California  houses  is 
Western. 

The  Western  method  is 
admirably  illustrated  in 
the  three  different  views 
given  of  the  California 
house  that  so  strongly  re- 
flects the  influence  of 
Japanese  architecture. 
Here,  instead  of  sharp- 
edged  granite,  we  have 
big  comfortable  looking 
boulders  with  all  the 
edges  and  corners  worn 
off  during  the  ages  when 
they  have  rolled  about  in 
the  mountain  torrents, 
and  the  way  they  are 
wedged  helter-skelter 
among  the  irregular, 
roughly  laid  bricks  of  the 
walls,  pillars  and  chim- 
neys is  as  far  from  the 
conventional  use  of  stone 
as  is  a  Japanese  garden 
from  our  own  trim  walks 
and  flower  beds.  Such  a 
combination  as  in  shown 
in  these  pictures  almost 
demands  the  suggestion 
of  Japanese  architecture 
in  the  house  itself,  and 
yet  the  whole  thing  be- 
longs entirely  to  California. 

The  harmony  of  this  house  with  its  sur- 
roundings will  be  understood  when  we  say 
that  it  is  situated  on  high  ground  overlooking 
the  wild  gorge  of  the  Arroyo  Seco  and  that 
the  trees  close  to  it  are  gnarled,  hoary  oaks, 
towering  eucalyptus,  widespreading  cotton- 
woods,  tall,  slim  poplars  and  sycamores. 


THE   EFFECTIVE   USE   OF   COBBLESTONES 


Published  in   The   Craftsman,   November,    lonj. 
A    HOUSE    NEAR    PASADENA,    CALIFORNIA,    SHOWING    THE    STRIKING    EFFECT    GAINED    BY    THE    USE    OF    COBBLESTONES 
AND    BOULDERS    IN   THE   FOUNDATION,  CHIMNEY    AND   YARD   WALL. 


Published  in    The   Craftsman,   November,   loo/. 
A   CALIFORNIA    HOUSE    WHERE  THE   USE   OF  COBBLESTONES    IN    THE     STRUCTURE    ITSELF    IS    REPEATED    IN    THE    LOW, 
PILLARS   THAT    MARK    THE  ENTRANCE  OF    WALK    AND   DRIVEWAY  AND  IN  THE  GARDEN   WALL,  THUS  DRAWING  CLOSER 
THE    RELATIONSHIP    BETWEEN    HOUSE    AND    GROUND. 

107 


THE    EFFECTIVE    USE   OF   COBBLESTONES 


Published   in    The  Craftsman,  July.   iq>>~.   Greene  &  Greene,    Arcl 

A    HOUSE  IN   SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA    THAT   SHOWS   STRONG    TRACES    OF    JAPANESE    INFLUENCE,    AS    EVIDENT    IN    THE 
USE    OF    COBBLESTONES    AND    BOULDERS    IN    COMBINATION    WITH    BRICK,    AS    IN    THE   STRUCTURE    ITSELF. 


Published   in    The   Craftsman,  July,   iqoj,   Greene  &   Greene,  Architects. 

AN  EXCELLENT  EXAMPLE  OF  THE  RIGHT  USE  OF  COBBLES  AND  BOULDERS.  ANOTHER  VIEW  OF  THE  SAME  HOUSE, 
SHOWING  THE  WAY  IN  WHICH  THE  GRACEFUL  LINE  OF  THE  CHIMNEY  RISES  FROM  THE  WALL  OF  BRICK  AND  STONE, 
AND  ALSO  THE  MANNER  IN  WHICH  THE  STONE  IS  CARRIED  PART  WAY  UP  THE  CHIMNEY  SO  THAT  IT  SHOWS 
IRREGULARLY    HERE    AND   THERE. 

108 


BEAUTIFUL  GARDEN  GATES:  THE  CHARM  THAT 
IS  ALWAYS  FOUND  IN  AN  INTERESTING  APPROACH 
TO  AN  ENCLOSURE 


FEW  people  realize  how  much  depends 
upon  the  approach  to  any  given  place. 
A  pleasant  entrance  that  rouses  the  in- 
terest and  conveys  some  impression  of 
individuality  seems  an  earnest  of  pleasant 
things  to  come  and  is  always  associated  in  the 
memory  with  the  anticipation  that  came  from 
that  first  impression.  Especially  is  this  true 
of  a  garden  gate,  which  for  most  of  us  holds 
a  suggestion  of  sentiment  and  poetry  because 
it  is  in  its  own  way  a  symbol ;  it  leads  out  to 
greater  spaces  or  inward  to  more  intimate 
beauty.  Even  to  the  most  prosaic  it  always 
holds  something  of  a  promise  of  the  peaceful 
and  pleasant  place  that  lies  within.  Thus  it 
seems  right  that  a  garden  gate  -should  have 
a  charm  and  grace  all  its  own  ;  that  it  should 
be  embowered  with  trailing  vines  and  bloom- 
ing flowers  in  summer  time  and  should  always 
hold  forth  the  inviting  suggestion  of  pleasure 
and  welcome  beyond. 

The  illustrations  given  here  are  all  of  very 
simple  garden  gateways  that  are  made  attrac- 
tive  by   the   method   of   construction,   by   the 


placing  of  vines  and  flowers  or  by  some  grace- 
ful conceit  in  outline  and  relation  t<>  the  sur- 
roundings. The  hooded  gate  shown  on  this 
page  forms  a  charming  link  between  garden 
and  garden.  One  may  rest  a  moment  within 
its  shade  and  it  seems  to  bind  together  the 
two  plots  of  green  divided  by  the  fence. 
The  trellised  arbor  and  archway  which  spans 
the  flower  walk  in  an  English  garden  is  illus- 
trated here  because  of  the  charming  >uggestion 
it  contains  for  making  a  division  between  two 
parts  of  the  same  garden.  The  "pergola  gate'' 
shown  below  is  illustrated  without  the  vines 
that  are  meant  to  clothe  it,  because  we  desire  to 
give  a  clear  idea  of  the  construction.  The 
finely  planned  proportions  of  the  heavy  tim- 
bers and  the  straight  unornamented  lines  sug- 
gest an  inspiration  from  Japan.  The  vine 
covered  rustic  arbor  which  arches  over  the 
walk  leading  to  the  entrance  of  the  house  be- 
yond is  hardly  a  garden  gate,  yet  it  comes 
within  the  same  class  because  it  furnishes 
a  most  attractive  approach  to  house  and 
garden. 


Published   in    The   Craftsman,   June,   1908. 
A    HOODED    GATEWAY    LEADING    FROM    ONE    GARDEN    TO    ANOTHER.       NOTE    INTERESTING    CONSTRUCTION    OF    THE    ROOF 
AND   THE   WAV    THE    IDEA    IS    CARRIED   OUT   IN   THE   GATE    AND    THE    FENCE. 


1(1!) 


Courtesy  of  John   Lone   Company. 
ARBOR   AND    FLOWER   WALK    IN    AN    ENGLISH    GARDEN,    AFFORDING     NOT    ONLY     A     PLEASANT     SUMMER     RETREAT     BUT 
ALSO    A    MOST    ATTRACTIVE    VISTA    THROUGH    THE    LARGE   GROUNDS. 


Published   in    The   Craftsman,    tune.    1908. 
GATE    WITH    PERGOLA   CONSTRUCTION    OVERHEAD    MEANT    TO    SERVE    AS    A    SUPPORT    FOR   CLIMBING    VINES. 

110 


Published   in    The  Craftsman.   March,  1907. 

HOMEMADE  RUSTIC  ARBOR.  COVERED  WITH  CLIMBING  ROSES  AND  HONEYSUCKLE.  TLACED  AT  THE  ENTRANCE  OF  THE 
WALK  LEADING  TO  THE  FRONT  DOOR.  ONE  SUCH  STRUCTURAL  FEATl'RE  AS  THIS  WOULD  SERVE  AS  THE  CENTRAL 
POINT  OF    INTEREST    IN    AN    ENTIRE  GARDEN. 


Ill 


Published   iti   The   Craftsman .   March,    1907. 

A  VERY  SIMPLE  RUSTIC  GATEWAY  MADE  OF  TWO  UPRIGHTS  WITH  CROSS-PIECES  THAT  SERVE  AS  A  SUPPORT  FOR 
PINES,  AND  A  PEAKED  HOOD  OF  THE  SAME  CONSTRUCTION,  THE  FENCE  AND  GATE  ARE  ALSO  OF  RUSTIC  CONSTRUC- 
TION.     SUCH    AN    ENTRANCE    ADDS    A    TOUCH    OF   DIGNITY    AS    WELL   AS   PICTURESOUENESS  TO   THE   SIMPLEST  GARDEN. 


11-2 


THE  NATURAL  GARDEN:  SOME  THINGS  THAT  CAN 
BE  DONE  WHEN  NATURE  IS  FOLLOWED  INSTEAD 
OF  THWARTED 


M 


AKING  a  garden  is  not  unlike  build 
ing  a  home,  because  the  first  thing 
to  be  considered  is  the  creation  of 
that  indefinable  feeling  of  restful- 
ness  and  harmony  which  alone  makes  for  per- 
manence. Therefore,  in  planning  a  garden 
that  we  mean  to  live  with  all  our  lives,  it  is 
best  to  let  Nature  alone  just  as  far  as  possible, 
following  her  suggestions  and  helping  her  to 
carry  out  her  plans  by  adjusting  our  own  to 
them,  rather  than  attempting  to  introduce  a 
conventional  element  into  the  landscape. 

We  have  already  explained  in  detail  the  im- 
portance of  building  a  house  so  that  it  becomes 
a  part  of  its  natural  surroundings  ;  of  planning 
it  so  that  its  form  harmonizes  with  the  general 
contour  of  the  site  upon  which  it  stands  and 
also  of  the  surrounding  country,  and  of  using 
local  materials  and  natural  colors,  wherever 
it  is  possible,  so  that  the  house  may  be  brought 
into  the  closest  relationship  with  its  natural 
surroundings.  But  no  matter  how  well  plan- 
ned the  house  may  be.  or  how  completely  in 
keeping  with  the  country,  the  climate  and  the 


life  that  is  to  be  lived  in  it,  the  whole  sense 
tti  In une  peace  and  comfort  is  gone  if  the  gar- 
den is  left  tn  the  mercy  of  the  average  gard- 
ener, whose  chief  ambition  usually  is  to 
achieve  trim  walks,  faultless  flower-beds  and 
neatly  barbercd  shrubs,  and  whose  apprecia- 
tion of  wild  natural  beauty  is  small. 

To  give  a  real  sense  ot  peace  and  satisfac- 
tion a  garden  must  be  a  place  in  which  we  can 
wander  and  lounge,  pick  flowers  at  our  will 
and  invite  our  souls,  and  we  can  do  none  of 
these  if  we  have  the  feeling  that  trees,  shrubs 
and  flowers  were  put  there  arbitrarily  and  ac- 
cording to  a  set,  artificial  pattern,  instead  of 
being  allowed  to  grow  up  as  Nature  meant 
them  to  do.  Therefore,  knowing  the  vital  im- 
portance of  the  right  kind  of  garden  to  the 
general  scheme,  we  have  given  here  some  ex- 
amples of  the  natural  treatment  of  moderate- 
sized  grounds,  trusting  that  they  may  be  sug- 
gestive to  home  builders.  The  house  shown  in 
the  illustrations  was  built  by  an  artist  out  in  a 
pasture  lot  and  the  garden  that  has  been  en- 
couraged to  grow  up  around  it  has  mure  of  the 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  January,  igoS. 

A    HOME    WHERE   THE    SURROUNDINGS    HAVE    BEEN    LEFT    AS     NEARLY     NATURAL    AS     POSSIBLE;     THE     DWELLING    OF 
MR.    FREDERICK    STYMETZ    LAMB. 


IIS 


Fublished  in   The  Craftsman,  June,    iqoS. 

A  FLIGHT  OF  STEPS  WHICH  HAVE  BEEN  CUT  OCT  FROM  THE  SIDE  OF  A  HILL  AND  REINFORCED  WITH  HEAVY  BOARDS 
ROUNDED  AT  THE  EDGE.  THE  CURVING  LINE  OF  THE  STEPS.  WHICH  CONFORMS  TO  THE  CONTOUR  OF  THE  HILL,  AND 
THE  DRAPERY  OF  VINES  AND  NATURAL  UNDERGROWTH  THAT  COVERS  THE  RUSTIC  RAILING  ON  EITHER  SIDE  GIVES 
TO  THIS   APPROACH    A    RARE   AND   COMPELLING   CHARM. 


m 


Published   in   The  Craftsman,  January,   1908- 
AN  EXAMPLE   OF    THE   EFFECT   PRODUCED  BY   THE   LAVISH    USE   OF    VINES    UPON    A    HOUSE    WHERE    THEY    NATURALLY 
BELONG.       THE    CONSTRUCTION    OF    COBBLESTONE    AND    ROUGH     CEMENT     SEEMS     TO    DEMAND     JUST    SUCH     GRACIOUS 
DRAPERY    TO   BRING   IT   INTO    STILL   CLOSER   RELATIONSHIP    WITH    ITS    SURROUNDINGS. 


115 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  January,  igoS. 

A  GARDEN  THAT  HAS  MUCH  OF  THE  SIMTLE  CHARM  I  IF  A  PASTURE  LOT.  TREES  ARE  LEFT  TO  GROW  ALMOST  AS  THEY 
WILL.  ROCKS  LIE  ABOUT  HERE  AND  THERE  AS  ON  A  HILLSIDE  AND  THE  FLOWERS  ARE  OF  THE  RUGGED  HARDY 
VARIETY   THAT    ARE    QUITE    AT    HOME    IN    TH'S    CLIMATE. 


lit; 


THE    \ ATI' UAL    (iAUDEX 


feeling  of  free  woods  and  meadows  than  <>i 
a  primly  kept  enclosure.  The  trees  were  thin- 
ned out  just  enough  tu  allow  plent)  of  air  and 
sunshine  and  the  sense  of  space  that  is  so 
necessary,  and,  for  the  rest,  were  permitted 
to  grow  as  they  would.  As  Nature  never 
makes  a  mistake  in  her  groupings,  the  different 
varieties  of  trees  fall  into  the  picture  in  a  way 
that  could  never  be  achieved  by  the  most  in- 
genious planting.  Such  shrubs  and  flowers 
as  have  been  sel  out  are  of  the  more  hardy 
varieties  that  belong  to  the  climate  and  to  the 
soil,  and  the  vines  that  clamber  over  the  low- 
stone  garden  walls  and  curtain  the  walls  of  the 
house  seem  more  to  belong  to  the  wild  growths 
of  the  hillside  than  to  have  been  planted  by 
man.  Where  there  is  a  path  or  a  flight  of 
steps  the  course  of  it  is  ruled  by  the  contour 
of  the  ground  so  that  the  whole  impression  is 
that  of  Nature  smoothed  down  in  places  and 
in  others  encouraged  to  do  her  very  best. 

These  pictures,  of  course,  are  only  sugges- 
tive, for  in  the  very  nature  of  things  this  kind 
of  a  garden  cannot  be  made  by  rule,  as  no  two 
places  require  or  will  admit  the  same  treat- 
ment. The  only  way  to  obtain  the  effect  de- 
sired is  to  cultivate  the  feeling  of  kinship  with 
the  open  country  and  with  growing  things, 
and  so  to  learn  gradually  to  perceive  the  orig- 


inal plan.  After  that,  all  that  is  needed  is  to 
let  things  alone  so  far  as  arrangement  goes, 
and  to  work  in  harmony  with  the  thing  that 
already  exists. 

Most  fortunate  is  the  home  builder  who  can 
set  his  house  out  in  the  open  where  there  is 
plenty  of  meadowland  around  it  and  an  abund- 
ance of  trees.  If  the  ground  happens  t<>  be 
uneven  and  hilly,  so  much  the  better,  for  the 
gardener  has  then  the  besl  of  all  possible 
foundations  to  start  from  and,  if  he  be  wise, 
he  will  leave  it  much  as  it  is,  clearing  out  a 
little  here  and  there,  planting  such  flowers  and 
shrubs  as  seem  to  belong  to  the  picture  and 
allowing  the  paths  to  take  the  directions  that 
would  naturally  be  given  to  footpaths  across 
the  meadows  or  through  the  woods, — paths 
which  invariably  follow  the  line  of  the  least 
resistance  and  so  adapt  themselves  perfectly  to 
the  contour  of  the  ground. 

In  connection  with  these  garden  pictures  we 
give  several  illustrations  of  the  effect  of  an 
abundant  growth  of  vines  over  the  walls  of 
the  house  and  around  its  foundations,  and  also 
show  in  one  picture  the  result  that  can  be 
obtained  by  allowing  a  fast  growing  vine  to 
form  a  leafy  shade  to  the  porch  that  is  used 
as  an  outdoor  living  room.  The  lattice  con- 
struction of  the  roof  admits  plentv  of  sunlight. 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  December,   7907. 
VINE   COVERED    TORCH    THAT    IS    USED    AS    AN    OUTDOOR    LIVING  ROOM   AND  THAT  SEEMS    MORE  A   PART  OF  THE  GARDEN 
THAN   OF   THE   HOUSE. 


117 


118 


WHAT   MAY   BE  DONE  WITH   WATER  AND  ROCKS 
IN    A    LITTLE  GARDEN 


WE  have  to  acknowledge  our  indebted- 
ness to  the  Japanese  for  more  inspi- 
ration in  matters  of  art  and  archi- 
tecture than  most  of  us  can  realize, 
and  in  no  department  of  art  is  the  realization 
of  subtle  beauty  that  lies  in  simple  and  un- 
obtrusive things  more  valuable  to  us  as  home 
makers  than  the  suggestions  they  give  us  as 
to  the  arrangement  of  our  gardens.  With 
our  national  impulsiveness,  we  are  too  apt  to 
go  a  step  beyond  the  inspiration  and  attempt 
direct  imitation,  which  is  a  pity,  because  the 
inevitable  failure  that  must  necessarily  attend 
such  mistaken  efforts  will  do  more  than  any- 
thing else  to  discourage  people  with  the  idea 
of  trying  to  have  a  Japanese  garden.  But  if 
we  once  get  the  idea  into  our  heads  that  the 
secret  of  the  whole  thing  lies  in  the  exquisite 
sense  of  proportion  that  enables  a  Japanese  to 
produce  the  effect  of  a  whole  landscape  within 
the  compass  of  a  small  yard,  there  is  some 
hope  of  our  being  able  to  do  the  same  thing 
in  our  own  country  and  in  our  own  way. 

Our  idea  of  a  garden  usually  includes  a 
profusion  of  flowers  and  ambitious-looking 
shrubs,  but  the  Japanese  is  less  obvious.  He 
loves  flowers  and  has  many  of  them,  but  the 
typical  Japanese  garden  is  made  up  chiefly  of 
stones,  ferns,  dwarf  trees  and  above  all  water. 
It  may  be  only  a  little  water, — a  tiny,  trickling 
stream  not  so  large  as  that  which  would  flow 
from  a  small  garden  hose.  But,  given  this 
little  stream,  the  Japanese  gardener, — or  the 
American  gardener  who  once  grasps  the  Jap- 
anese idea, — can  do  wonders.  He  can  take 
that  little  stream,  which  represents  an  amount 
of  water  costing  at  the  outside  about  three 
dollars  a  month,  and  can  so  direct  it  that  it 
pours  over  piles  of  rocks  in  tiny  cascades, 
forming  pool  after  pool,  and  finally  shaping 
its  course  through  a  miniature  river  into  a 
clear  little  lake.  If  it  is  a  strictly  Japanese 
garden,  both  river  and  lake  will  be  bridged 
and  the  stream  will  have  as  many  windings  as 
possible,  to  give  a  chance  for  a  number  of 
bridges.  Also  it  will  have  temple  lanterns  of 
stone,  bronze  storks  and  perhaps  a  tiny  image 
of  Buddha. 

But  in  the  American  garden  we  need  none 
of  these  things,  unless  indeed  we  have  space 
enough  so  that  a  portion  of  the  grounds  may- 
be devoted  to  a  genuine  Japanese  garden  like 
the  one  shown   in   the  illustrations.     This  in- 


deed might  have  been  picked  up  in  Japan  and 
transplanted  bodily  to  America,  for  it  is  the 
garden  of  Mr.  John  S.  Bradstreet,  of  Minne- 
apolis, who  is  a  lover  of  all  things  Japanese 
and  has  been  in  Japan  many  times.  This 
garden  occupies  a  space  little  more  than  one 
hundred  feet  in  diameter,  and  yet  the  two- 
illustrations  we  give  are  only  glimpses  of  its 
varied  charm.  They  are  chosen  chiefly  be- 
cause they  illustrate  the  use  that  can  be  made 
of  a  small  stream  of  water  so  placed  that  it 
trickles  over  a  pile  of  rocks.  The  effect  pro- 
duced is  that  of  a  mountain  glen,  and  so  per- 
fect are  the  proportions  and  so  harmonious 
the  arrangement  that  there  is  no  sense  of  in- 
congruity in  the  fact  that  the  whole  thing  is 
on  such  a  small  scale. 

Where  people  have  only  a  small  garden, 
say  in  the  back  yard  of  a  city  home  or  in 
some  nook  that  can  be  spared  from  the  front 
lawn,  an  experiment  with  the  possibilities  of 
rocks,  ferns  and  a  small  stream  of  water 
would  bring  rich  returns.  We  need  no  temple 
lanterns  or  images  of  Buddha  in  this  country, 
but  we  do  need  the  kind  of  garden  that  brings 
to  our  minds  the  recollection  of  mountain 
brooks,  wooded  ravines  and  still  lakes,  and 
while  it  takes  much  thought,  care  and  training 
of  one's  power  of  observation  and  adjustment 
to  get  it,  the  question  of  space  is  not  one  that 
has  to  be  considered,  and  the  expense  is  almost 
nothing  at  all. 

The  thing  to  be  most  avoided  is  imitation 
either  of  the  Japanese  models  from  which  we 
take  the  suggestion  for  our  own  little  gardens 
or  of  the  scenery  of  which  they  are  intended 
to  remind  us.  It  is  safest  to  regard  such  gar- 
dens merely  as  an  endeavor  on  our  part  to 
create  something  that  will  call  into  life  the 
emotion   or   memory   we   wish   to   perpetuate. 

All  these  suggestions  are  for  a  small  garden 
such  as  would  naturallv  belong  to  a  city  or 
suburban  house,  but  if  such  effects  can  be  pro- 
duced here  in  a  corner  and  by  artificial  means, 
it  is  easy  to  imagine  what  could  be  done  with 
large  and  naturally  irregular  grounds,  say  on 
a  hillside,  or  where  a  natural  brook  wound  its 
way  through  the  garden,  giving  every  oppor- 
tunity for  the  picturesque  effects  that  could 
be  created  by  very  simple  treatment  of  the 
banks,  by  a  bridge  or  a  pool  here  and  there 
and  by  a  little  adjustment  of  the  rocks  lying; 
around. 


119 


Courtesy    of    Country    Life    in    America. 


i^xagr:  *#s&?: 


A   PART  OF  A  JAPANESE  GARDEN   OWNED  BY    MR.   JOHN  S.    BRADSTREET,    OF    MINNEAPOLIS.       AN    EXCELLENT    EXAMPLE 
ill     HOW  ROCKS,   DWARF  TREES   AND  A   TINY    STREAM    OF    WATER     MAY    BE     USED    TO     MAKE     A     HIGHLY    DECORATIVE 

LI  I  ECT. 


120 


Cour'esy  of  C<  untry  Life  in  America. 

ANOTHER   PART  OF   MR.   BRADSTREET's   GARDEN,    SHOWING    BRIDGES    MADE    OF    WATER-WORN    TEAKWOOD     1AKEN    FROM 
AN    OLD    JUNK.      THE    FOUNTAIN,    PILE    OF    ROCKS    AND    DWARF   TREES    ARE    SEEN    FROM    A    DIFFEREN1    ANGLE. 


121 


Courtesy  of  Country  Life  in  America. 
EXAMPLE  OF   WHAT   MAY    BE   DONE   WITH   A  VERY    SMALL    SUPPLY    OF    WATER.      THE   POOL    HERE   IS    FED   SOLELY   BY   A 
TINY    STREAM    WHICH    ISSUES    FROM    THE    DRAGON'S    MOUTH   AND  FORMS  A   SLENDER  CASCADE  OVER  THE  ROCKS 


122 


Courtesy   of  C( 


REST    HOUSE   AND    POOL   IN    MR.    BRADSTREET  S    JAPANESE    GARDEN,     SHOWING    TEMPLE    LANTERN,    SMALL    IMAGE    OF 
BUDDHA    AND   THE    EFFECT    OF    ROCKS    AROUND   THE    MARCIN    FRAMING    THE    AQUATIC    PLANTS    IN    THE    POOL. 


123 


I.'4 


HALLS   AND   STAIRWAYS:    THEIR  IMPORTANCE   IN 
THE  GENERAL  SCHEME  OF  A  CRAFTSMAN  HOUSE 


WITH  the  general  adoption  of  the 
simpler  and  more  sensible  ideas  of 
house  building  that  have  come  to  the 
front  in  late  years,  the  hall  seems  to 
be  returning  to  its  old-time  dignity  as  one  of 
the  important  rooms  of  the  house.  Instead  of 
the  small  dark  passageway,  with  just  room 
enough  for  the  hat  tree  and  the  stairs,  that 
we  have  long  been  familiar  with  in  American 
houses,  we  have  now  the  large  reception  hall 
with  its  welcoming  fireplace  and  comfortable 
furnishings, — as  inviting  a  room  as  any  in  the 
house.  There  is  even  a  suggestion  of  the 
"great  hall  of  the  castle,"  where  in  bygone 
days  all  indoor  life  centered,  in  the  ever- 
increasing  popularity  of  the  plan  which  throws 
hall,  living  room  and  dining  room  into  one 
large  irregular  room,  divided  only  by  the 
decorative  post-and-panel  construction  that  we 
so  frequently  use  to  indicate  a  partition,  or 
by  large  screens  that  serve  temporarily  to  shut 
off  one  part  or  another  if  privacy  should  be 
required.  In  this  main  room  all  guests  are  re- 
ceived, all  the  meals  are  served  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  family  life  is  carried  on.  Even 
where  this  plan  is  not  adopted  and  the  rooms 
of  the  lower  story  are  completely  separated 
from  one  another,  the  large  reception  hall   is 


still  counted  as  one  of  the  principal  rooms  of 
the  In  uise,  and  what  used  to  be  considered  the 
entrance  or  stair  hall  is  now  either  absent 
entirely  or  treated  as  a  vestibule;  generally 
curtained  off  from  the  reception  hall  or  living 
room  into  which  it  opens  in  order  to  prevent 
drafts  from  the  entrance  door. 

Whether  it  be  a  large  or  small  reception 
hall,  or  an  entrance  only  large  enough  for  the 
stairs  and  the  passageway  from  the  front  door 
to  the  other  rooms  in  the  house,  the  hall  is 
always  worthy  of  careful  consideration  as  to 
structural  features  and  color  scheme,  for  it 
gives  the  first  impression  of  the  whole  house. 
It  is  the  preface  to  all  the  rest  and  in  a  well 
planned  house  it  strikes  the  keynote  of  the 
whole  scheme  of  interior  decoration.  Above 
all  things,  the  hall  ought  to  convey  the  sug- 
gestion of  welcome  and  repose.  In  a  cold 
climate,  or  if  placed  on  the  shady  side  of  the 
house,  it  is  worth  any  pains  to  have  the  hall 
well  lighted  and  airy  and  the  color  scheme 
rich  and  warm.  It  is  the  first  impression  of 
a  house  that  influences  the  visitor  and  the 
sight  of  a  cheerless  vista  upon  entering  chills 
any  appreciation  of  subsequent  effects.  With 
a  sunny  exposure,  or  in  a  country  where  heat 
has  to  be  reckoned  with  for  the  greater  part 


jff. 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  January,  igo6. 
A  TYPICAL  CRAFTSMAN  STAIRWAY  WITH  LANDING  USED  AS  A  STRUCTURAL  FEATURE  OF  THE  RECEPTION  HALL.  THIS 
IS  AN  EXCELLENT  EXAMPLE  OF  THE  POST-AND-PANEL  CONSTRUCTION  WHICH  IS  SO  OFTEN  USED  TO  INDICATE  THE 
DIVISION    BETWEEN    TWO   ROOMS. 


1-25 


HALLS  AND   STAIRWAYS 


Published   in    The   Craftsman,   Noz'ember,   loon. 


AN  UPPER  HALL  WHICH  IS  FITTED  UP  FOR  USE  AS  A  SEWING  ROOM.  STUDY,  OR  PLAYROOM,  ACCORDING  TO  THE 
USE  FOR  WHICH  IT  IS  MOST  NEEDED.  SUCH  AN  UPSTAIRS  RETREAT  IS  DELIGHTFUL  IN  A  HOUSE  WHERE  THE 
ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  WHOLE  LOWER  STORY  IS  OPEN,  AS  IT  AFFORDS  A  MORE  OR  LESS  SECLUDED  PLACE  FOR  WORK 
OR  STUDY    AND   YET    HAS  THE  FREEDOM    AND  AIRINESS  OF    A    LARGE   SPACE. 


126 


HALLS   AND   STAIRWAYS 


of   the   year    rather    than    cold,    an    effect    of 

restful  shadiness  and  coolness  is  quite  as  in- 
viting in  its  way,  although  it  is  always  safe  to 
avoid  a  cold  color  scheme  for  a  hall,  as  the 
suggestion  it  conveys  is  invariably  repellent 
rather  than  welcoming. 

In  England  the  large  hall  designed  for  tin- 
general  gathering  place  of  the  family  is  a  fea- 
ture in  nearly  every  moderately  large  house, 
particularly  in  the  country.  These  English 
halls  are  always  roomy  and  comfortable  and 
in  many  cases  are  both  picturesque  and  sump- 
tuous in  effect,  having  a  certain  rich  stateli- 
ness  thai  seems  to  have  descended  in  direct 
line  from  the  great  hall  of  old  baronial  days. 
In  this  country  the  hall  is  more  apt  to  be  a 
part  of  the  living  room,  and.  while  quite  as 
homelike  and  inviting,  is  simpler  in  style. 

The  illustration  on  page  125  shows  the  part 
of  a  Craftsman  reception  hall  that  contains  the 
stairway.     A  small  den  or  lounging  room   is 


formed  b_\  the  deep  recess  that  appears  at 
one  side  of  the  staircase,  which  is  central  in 
position  and  is  completely  masked,  excepting 
the  lower  steps  and  the  landing,  by  the  post 
construction  above  the  solid  wainscot  that  sur- 
rounds it.  This  wainscot  turns  outward  to 
the  width  (if  a  single  panel  at  either  side  of 
the  stair,  one  sheltering  the  end  of  the  seat 
built  in  at  the  right  side  and  the  other  partially 
dividing  off  the  recess  to  the  left.  So 
arranged,  the  staircase  forms  an  important 
part  of  the  decorative  treatment  of  the  room. 
The  second  illustration  shows  an  upstairs 
hall,  which  has  somewhat  the  effect  of  a  gal- 
lery, as  it  is  open  to  the  stairway  except  for  a 
low  balustrade.  This  nook  in  the  upper  hall 
takes  the  place  of  a  sewing  room  or  an  upstairs 
sitting  room,  and  is  infinitely  more  attractive 
because  of  the  freedom  and  openness  of  the 
arrangement.  While  not  in  any  sense  a  sep- 
arate room,  it  still  allows  a  certain  seclusion 


Published   in    The   Craftsman.  January.    iqo6. 

A  STAIRWAY  THAT  RUNS  DIRECTLY  IP  FROM  THE  LIVING  ROOM  AND  IS  USED  AS  A  PART  OF  THE  STRUCTURAL  DECO- 
RATION. NOTE  THE  LAMP  ON  THE  NEWEL  POST  WHICH  GIVES  LIGHT  TO  THE  SEAT  BELOW  AND  THE  WAV  IN  WHICH 
1  II  I     WINDOW    ON   THE  LANDING   CARRIES   OUT   THE   LINE    I  iF   THE   UPPER    WALL   SPACE. 


127 


HALLS    AM)    STAIRWAYS 


Published  in    The  Craftsman,  January,   !<)><>. 
RECEPTION'    HALL    AND    STAIRCASE    WHERE    THE    LANDING    PROJECTS   INTO  THE   ROOM    ALMOST  DIRECTLY  OPPOSITE  THE 
ENTRANCE    DOOR.      THIS    HALL    IN    MOST   CRAFTSMAN    HOUSES    IS   LITTLE    MORE  THAN    A   NOOK   IN   THE   LIVING  ROOM. 


for  anyone  who  wishes  to  read,  work  or  study. 

The  third  illustration  shows  another  Crafts- 
man reception  hall  in  which  the  staircase  is  the 
prominent  structural  feature.  The  double 
casements  light  stair  and  landing  and  also  add 
considerably  to  the  light  in  the  room.  Just 
below  the  stair  is  a  comfortable  seat  with  the 
radiator  hidden  below,  and  a  coat  closet  fills 
the  space  between  the  seat  and  the  wall. 

A  larger  hall  that  is  emphatically  a  part  of 
the  living  room  is  seen  in  the  last  illustration. 
Here  there  is  no  vestibule  and  the  wide  en- 
trance door  with  the  small  square  panes  in  the 
upper  part  belong  to  the  structural  decoration 
of  the  room.  Additional  light  is  given  from 
the  same  side  by  the  row  of  casements  recessed 
to  leave  a  wide  ledge  for  plants.  The  ceiling 
is  beamed  and  the  whole  construction  of  the 
room  is  satisfying,  although  interest  at  once 
centers  upon  the  staircase  as  the  prominent 
structural  feature.  This  is  in  the  center  of 
the  room  and  has  a  large  square  landing 
approached  by  three  shallow  steps.  The  stairs 
run  up  toward  the  right  at  the  turn  and  the 
space  between  steps  and  ceiling  is  filled  with 


slim  square  uprights,  two  on  each  step,  which 
give  the  effect  of  a  grille,  very  open  and  very 
decorative.  Opposite  the  stair  on  the  landing 
is  a  railing  about  the  height  of  a  wainscot 
with  posts  above.  Treated  in  this  manner,  the 
staircase  seems  intended  as  much  for  beauty 
as  for  utility,  and  so  fulfills  its  manifest 
destiny  in  the  Craftsman  decorative  scheme. 

In  a  small  house  there  are  often  many  con- 
siderations which  prevent  the  use  of  the  hall 
as  a  living  room.  Many  people  object  to  the 
draughts  and  waste  of  heat  entailed  by  the 
open  stairway  and  prefer  a  living  room  quite 
separate  from  the  entrance  to  the  house.  In 
this  case  it  is  better  to  omit  the  reception  hall 
and  to  have  merely  a  small  entrance  hall, 
rather  than  the  compromise  that  contains  no 
possibility  of  comfort  and  yet  is  crammed  with 
all  the  features  that  belong  in  the  larger  hall 
intended  for  general  use.  An  entrance  hall  of 
this  kind  may  be  made  very  attractive  and 
inviting  by  the  wise  selection  of  the  woodwork 
and  color  scheme  and  by  care  in  the  designing 
of  the  stairwav.  which  of  course  is  the  prin- 
cipal structural  feature  in  any  hall. 


128 


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O 

THE    LIVING    ROOM:    ITS    MANY    USES    AND    THE 
POSSIBILITIES  IT  HAS  FOR  COMFORT  AND  BEAUTY 


UNQUESTIONABLY  the  most  impor- 
tant room  in  the  house  is  the  living 
room,  and  in  a  small  or  medium  sized 
dwelling  this  room,  with  the  addition 
of  a  small  hall  or  vestibule  and  a  well-planned 
kitchen,  is  all  that  is  needed  on  the  first  floor. 
A  large  and  simply  furnished  living  room, 
where  the  business  of  home  life  may  be  car- 
ried on  freely  and  with  pleasure,  may  well 
occupy  all  the  space  that  is  ordinarily  par- 
titioned into  small  rooms  conventionally 
planned  to  meet  supposed  requirements.  It 
is  the  executive  chamber  of  the  household, 
where  the  family  life  centers  and  from  which 
radiates  that  indefinable  home  influence  that 
shapes  at  last  the  character  of  the  nation  and 
the  age.      In   the   living   room   of   the   home. 


m>  ire  than  in  almost  any  other  place,  is  felt 
the  influence  of  material  things.  It  is  a  place 
where  work  is  to  be  done  and  it  is  also  the 
haven  of  rest  for  the  worker.  It  is  the  place 
where  children  grow  and  thrive  and  gain  their 
fust  impressions  of  life  and  of  tin-  world.  It 
is  the  place  to  which  a  man  comes  home  when 
his  day's  work  is  done  and  where  he  expects- 
to  find  himself  comfortable  and  at  ease  in 
surroundings  that  are  in  harmony  with  his 
daily  life,  thought  and  pursuits. 

In  creating  a  home  atmosphere,  the  thing 
that  pays  and  pays  well  is  honesty.  A  house 
should  be  the  outward  and  visible  expression 
of  the  life,  work  and  thought  of  its  inmates. 
In  its  planning  and  furnishing,  the  station  in 
life    of    its   owner   should   be   expressed    in   a 


Published   in    The  Craftsman,  April,  igoj. 

CHIMNEYPIECE  AND  FIRESIDE  SEATS  IN  A  TYPICAL  CRAFTSMAN  LIVING  ROOM.  THE  CHIMNEVPIECE  IS  PANELED 
WITH  DULL-FINISHED  GRUEBY  TILES  BANDED  WITH  WROUGHT  IRON  HELD  IN  PLACE  BY  COPPER  RIVETS.  THE  FIRE- 
PLACE  HOOD   IS   OF  COPPER  AND  THE   PANELING  OF  SEATS    AND  WAINSCOT   IS    IN   FUMED  OAK. 


129 


l:;n 


THE    LIVING    ROOM 


Published  in   The  Craftsman,  December,  1905. 
A    FIRESIDE    NOOK    THAT   IS    DEEPLY    RECESSED    FROM   THE    LIVING  ROOM.      THE  CEILING  OF  THE  NOOK   IS   MUCH  LOWER 
THAN   THAT  OF  THE   MAIN   ROOM.   GIVING  AN   EFFECT  OF    COMFORT   THAT    IS    HARD   TO  OBTAIN    IN    ANY  OTHER   WAY. 


dignified  manner,  not  disguised.  If  servants 
cannot  be  afforded  without  too  heavy  a  tax 
upon  the  family  finances,  build  the  house  so 
that  it  is  convenient  to  get  along  without  them. 
It  is  astonishing  how  easy  the  care  of  a  house 
can  be  made  by  the  simple  process  of  elimi- 
nating unnecessary  things.  The  right  kind  of 
a  home  does  not  drag  out  all  that  there  is  in 
a  man  to  keep  it  going,  nor  is  the  care  of  it 
too  heavy  a  burden  upon  a  woman.     It  shoul 


be  so  planned  that  it  meets,  in  the  most 
straightforward  manner,  the  actual  require- 
ments of  those  who  live  in  it,  and  so  furnished 
that  the  work  of  keeping  it  in  order  is  reduced 
to  a  minimum. 

It  is  the  first  conception  of  a  room  that 
decides  whether  it  is  to  be  a  failure  or  a  suc- 
cess as  a  place  to  live  in,  for  in  this  lies  the 
character  that  is  to  be  uniquely  its  own.  In 
everv  house,  however,  modest,  there  can  be  a 


Published    in    The    Craftsman.    December,    /905. 
CORNER  OF  A   LIVING  ROOM   THAT  IS  ALSO   USED  AS  A    WORK  ROOM.      THE   PANELING   ON    EITHER   SIDE   OF   THE   CHIM- 
NEY PIECE   EXTENDS    TO    THE    CEILING    SO   THAT    THE    ENTiKF.    WALL    SPACE    IS    LINED    WITH    WOOD. 


131 


5    *> 
o    _ 


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13-2 


TI1K    L1VI\(;    ROOM 


living  room  that  shows  an 
individuality  possessed  by 
no  other,  an  individuality 
that  is  actually  a  part  ofthe 
place,  if  the  room  be  plan- 
ned to  meet  the  real  needs 
of  those  who  are  to  live  in 
it  and  to  turn  to  the  best 
advantage  the  conditions 
surrounding  it.  These  con- 
ditions are  as  many  as 
there  are  rooms.  The 
situation  and  surroundings 
of  the  plot  of  ground  on 
which  a  house  is  built  has 
much  to  do  with  the  posi- 
tion of  the  living  room  in 
the  plan  of  that  house.  As 
it  is  the  principal  room,  it  should  have  an  ex- 
posure which  insures  plenty  of  sunlight  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  day  and  also  the  pleasant- 
est  outlook  possible  to  the  situation.  Both  of 
these  considerations,  as  well  as  the  best  ar- 
rangement of  wall  spaces,  govern  the  placing 
of  the  windows  and  of  outside  doors,  which 
may  open  into  the  veranda,  the  sun  room,  or 
the  garden. 

The  structural  variations  of  the  living  room 
are  endless,  as  they  are  dominated  by  the 
tastes  and  needs  of  each  separate  family.     If 


Published   in    The   Craft 
A  RECESSED   WINDOW 


ma>i,    February,   igoj. 
SEAT  THAT   WOULD  SERVE  FOR  ANY    ROOM    IX    THE    HOUSE. 

the  room  is  to  be  a  permanently  satisfying 
place  to  live  in,  nothing  short  of  the  exercise 
of  individual  thought  and  care  in  its  arrange- 
ment will  give  the  result.  Tint  one  thing  must 
be  kept  in  mind  if  the  room  is  to  be  satisfac- 
tory as  a  whole,  and  that  is,  to  provide  a 
central  point  of  interest  around  which  the 
entire  place  is  built,  decorated  and  furnished, 
for  it  gives  the  keynote  both  as  to  structure 
and  color  scheme.  It  may  be  a  well  planned 
fireplace,  either  recessed  or  built  in  the  ordi- 
nary   manner,   with   fireside   seats,   bookcases, 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  October,  10  ■•. 

A    RECESSED    FIREPLACE    NOOK    IN    A    ROOM    WHERE    THE    Wl WORK     I---    LIGHT    AND    FINE    AND    THE    PANELED    WALL 

SPACES   ARE   COVERED   WITH    SOME  FAERIC   SUCH    AS   SILK.    CANVAS.  OH   JAPANESE   GRASS   <  LOTH. 


133 


THE    LIVING    ROOM 


The   Craftsman,   February,    igo; 


A  CHARACTERISTIC  CRAFTSMAN  INTERIOR.  SHOWING  THE  ENTRANCE  HALL,  STAIRCASE  AND  LANDING  AND  A  PAM 
OF  THE  LIVING  ROOM.  NOTE  THE  WAV  IN  WHICH  THE  LINE  OF  THE  MANTEL  SHELF  IS  CARRIED  THE  WHOLE 
LENGTH  OF  THE  WALL  BY  THE  TOPS  OF  THE  BUILT-IN  BOOKCASES  AND  HOW  IT  IS  FINISHED  BY  THE  BALUSTRADE 
OF  THE  STAIR  LANDINCi.  ALSO  NOTE  THE  MANNER  IN  WHICH  THE  ENTRANCE  HALL  IS  DIVIDED  FROM  THE  LIVING 
ROOM  SO  THAT  ITS  SEPARATENESS  IS  INDICATED  WITHOUT  DESTROYING  THE  SENSE  OF  SPACE  WHICH  MEANS  SO 
MICH    TO    THE    BEAUTY    OF   THE    MAIN    ROOM. 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  November,  1905, 


BUILT-IN  CHINA  CLOSETS  ON  EITHER  SIDE  OF  THE  FIREPLACE  IN  A  LIVING  ROOM  WHICH  IS  ALSO  USED  AS  A  DINING 
ROOM.  BY  A  SLIGHT  DIFFERENCE  IN  ARRANGEMENT  THE  CUPBOARDS  ABOVE  COl'LD  BE  MADE  TO  SERVE  AS  BOOKCASES 
AND   THOSE  BELOW   AS   STORAGE   PLACES   FOR    PAPERS.    MAGAZINES   AND  THE    LIKE. 


134 


THE    LIVING    ROOM 


cupboards,  shelves,  or  liigli  casement  windows 
so  arranged  as  to  be  an  integral  part  of  the 
structure.  The  chimneypiece  strikes  a  rich 
color-note  with  its  bricks  or  tiles  and  glowing 
copper  hood,  and  the  woodwork,  wall  spaces 
and  decorative  scheme  are  naturally  brought 
into  harmony  with  it.  Or  perhaps  the  domi- 
nant feature  may  be  the  staircase,  with  its 
broad  landing  and  well-designed  balustrade ; 
or  it  may  be  a  group  of  windows  so  placed 
that  it  makes  possible  just  the  right  arrange- 
ment of  the  wall  spaces  and  commands  the 
best  of  the  view.  Or  if  living  room  and 
dining  room  are  practically  one,  the  main 
point  of  interest  may  be  a  sideboard,  either 
built  into  a  recess  or,  with  its  cupboards  on 
either  side  and  a  row  of  casement  windows 
above,  occupying  the  entire  end  of  the  room. 
Any  commanding;    feature   in    the   structure 


of  the  room  itself  will  naturally  take  its  place 
as  this  center  of  interest;  if  there  are  several, 
the  question  of  relative  importance  will  be 
easily  settled,  for  there  can  be  only  one  domi- 
nant point  in  a  well  planned  room.  The  Eng- 
lish thoroughly  understand  the  importance  of 
this  and  the  charm  of  their  houses  depends 
largely  upon  the  skilful  arrangement  of  inter- 
esting structural  features  around  one  center 
of  attention  to  which  everything  else  is  sub- 
ordinate. Also  the  English  understand  the 
charm  of  the  recess  in  a  large  room.  Their 
feeling  regarding  it  is  well  expressed  by  a 
prominent  English  architect  of  the  new  school 
who  writes:  "Many  people  have  a  feeling  that 
there  is  a  certain  cosiness  in  a  small  room 
entirely  unattainable  in  a  large  room;  this  is 
a  mistake  altogether;  quite  the  reverse  has 
been  my  experience,  which  is.  that  such  a  sense 


Published    in    The   Craftsman,    April,  igoj. 


FIREPLACE  IN  A  LIVING  ROOM.  THE  SQUARE  MASSIVE  CHIMNEYPIECE  IS  BUILT  OF  HARD-BURNED  RED  BRICK  LAID 
UP  IN  DARK  MORTAR  WITH  WIPE  JOINTS.  THE  MANTEL  SHELF  AS  ILLUSTRATED  HERE  IS  OF  RED  CEMENT,  BUT  A 
THICK  OAK  PLANK  WOULD  BE  EQUALLY  EFFECTIVE.  THE  HOOD  IS  OF  COPPER  AND  THE  FIREPLACE  IS  BANDED  WITH 
WROUGHT   IRON.      THE  PANELING   ABOVE   THE   BOOKCASES   GIVES   AN    INTERESTING  DIVISION   OF  THE   WALL   SPACES. 


135 


'THE   LIVING    ROOM 


of  cosiness  as  can  be  got  in  the  recesses  of  a 
large  room  can  never  be  attained  in  a  small 

niie.  lint  if  your  big  room  is  in  be  comfort- 
able, it  must  have  recesses.  There  is  a  great 
•charm  in  a  room  broken  up  in  plan,  where 
that  slight  feeling  of  mystery  is  given  to  it 
which  arises  when  you  cannot  see  the  whole 
room  from  any  one  place  in  which  you  are 
likely  to  sit;  when  there  is  always  something 
around  the  corner." 

Where  it  is  possible,  the  structural  feat- 
ures that  actually  exist  in  the  framework 
should  be  shown  ami  made  ornamental,  for 
a  room  that  is  structurally  interesting  and 
in  which  the  woodwork  and  color  scheme  are 
good  has  a  satisfy  ins;  quality  that  is  not 
dependent  upon  pictures  or  bric-a-brac  and 
needs    but    little    in    the    way    of    furnishings. 


I  >nl)  such  furniture  as  is  absolutely  necessary 
should  be  permitted  in  such  a  room,  and  that 
should  be  simple  in  character  and  made  to 
harmonize  with  the  woodwork  in  color  and 
finish.  From  first  to  lasl  the  room  should  be 
treated  as  a  whole.  Such  furniture  as  is 
needed  for  constant  Use  may  be  si,  placed  that 
it  leaves  plenty  of  fiii  pair  m  the  room  and 
when  once  placed  it  should  be  left  alone. 
Nothing  so  much  disturbs  the  much  desired 
home  atmosphere  a-  to  make  frequent  changes 
in  the  disposition  of  the  furniture  so  that  the 
general  aspect  of  the  room  i-  undergoing  con- 
tinual alteration.  If  the  room  is  right  in  the 
first  place,  it  cannot  be  as  satisfactorily  ar- 
ranged in  any  other  way.  Everything  in  it 
should  fall  into  place  as  if  it  hadgrown  there 
before  the  room   is  pronounced   complete. 


■n  ■  -. 

«■'•■ 

■' " 

- 

■ 

"• 

J. 

m 

1 

Published   in    The  Craftsman,  January,   1906. 

WINDOW  SEAT  IN  A  LIVING  ROOM.  THE  GROUP  OF  WINDOWS  WITH  THE  SEAT  BELOW  EXTENDS  ACROSS  THE  ENTIRE 
END  OF  THE  ROOM  AND  THE  TWO  ENDS  OF  THE  SEAT  ARE  FORMED  BY  THE  SMALL  SQUARE  BOOKCASES  BUILT  INTO 
THE  CORNERS. 


136 


THE    DINING    ROOM    AS    A    CENTER 
TALITY    AND    GOOD    CHEER 


OF      IIOSPI 


NEXT  to  the  living  room  the  most  im- 
portant division  of  the  lower   Hour  of 
a  house  is  the  dining  room.     The  liv- 
ing room  is  the  gathering  place  of  the 
household,  the  place   for  work  as   well  as  for 
pleasure  and  rest;  hut  the  dining  room  is  the 
center  of  hospilaliU   and  good  cheer,  the  place 


for  in  a  carefully  planned  house  the  work  of 
the  household  is  made  as  easy  as  possible. 
Hence  il  goes  withoul  saying  that  the  dining 
room  should  he  placed  in  such  relation  to  the 
kitchen  that  the  work  of  serving  meals  goes 
on  with  no  friction  and  with  as  few  steps  as 
possible.     A    noiseless   and    well   lined   swing 


Published   in    The  Craftsman,  January,   igoo. 

CRAFTSMAN    DINING    ROOM    WITH    SIDEBOARD    BUILT   INTO    A  RECESS  AND  SURMOUNTED  BY  FOUR  CASEMENT  WINDOWS. 
NOTE    HOW    THE   GROUPING   OK   THE    WINDOWS    IS    REPEATED    AT    THE    EXD    OF    Till.    ROOM. 


thai  should  hold  a  special  welcome  for  guests 
and  home  folk  alike.  Instead  of  being  planned 
to  fulfil  manifold  functions  like  the  living 
room,  it  has  one  definite  use  and  purpose  and 
no  disturbing  element  should  be  allowed  to 
creep  in. 

In  planning  a  dining  room  two  consider- 
ations take  equal  rank, — convenience  and 
cheerfulness.      Convenience   must    come   first, 


door  serves  as  a  complete  bar  against  sounds 
and  odors  from  the  kitchen,  even  if  the  con- 
nection  be  direct.  If  a  butler's  pantry  should 
In-  preferred  for  convenience  in  serving,  it 
would  naturally  be  placed  between  the  kitchen 
and  the  dining  room.  Much  time  and  many 
steps  are  saved  also  if  the  principal  china  cup- 
board is  built  in  the  wall  between  the  dining 
room    and    kitchen    or    butler's    pantry,    with 


1:57 


THE    DINING    ROOM 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  October,   i 

DINING  ROOM  WITH  DISH  CUPBOARD  BUILT  INTO  THE  WALL  SO  THAT  THE  DOORS  ARE  FLUSH  WITH  THE  SURFACE 
THE  SIDEBOARD  IN  THIS  CASE  IS  MOVABLE  AND  THE  REMAINDER  OF  THE  WALL  SPACE  BELOW  THE  FRIEZE  IS  TAKEN 
UP   BY   A    PICTURE   WINDOW    IN    WHICH    ARE   ACCENTED  THE  COLORS  THAT  PREVAIL  IN*  THE  DECORATION  OF  THE  ROOM. 


Published  in   The   Craftsman,  November,  1005. 

II  I  ESSED  WINDOW  AND  SEAT  IN  A  DINING  ROOM.      AN  UNUSUALLY   QUAINT   EFFECT    IS   GIVEN   BY   THE    SMALL   LEADED 
PANES    OF    CLASS    AND    THE    BROAD    WINDOW    LEDGE   FOR    HOLDING    PLANTS. 

138 


THE    I)ININ<;    ROOM 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,   December,    1905. 
SIDEBOARD   BUILT    INTO    A   RECESS   WITH    DISH   CUPBOARDS  ON    EITHER   SIDE.      SQUARE   MATT-FINISHED  TILES   ARE  USED 
TO   FILL    IN    THE    PANELS    ABOVE    THESE   CUPBOARDS    AND   THE   SPACE   BETWEEN    THE  TOP  OF  THE   SIDEBOARD  AND  THE 
WINDOW    LEDC1 


Published   in   'The  Craftsman,  November,    rp 

WINDOW    EXTENDING    THE    WHOLE    WIDTH     OF    A    DINING    ROOM    AND   IN  TENDED  FOR   AN    EXPOSURE    WHERE   THERE   IS 
AN     ESPECIALLY    FINE    VIEW. 


139 


THE    1)I\IN<;     ROOM 


doors  opening  on  both  sides  so  bhat  dishes  may 
be  put  away  after  washing  without  the  ueo 
sity  of  carrying  them  into  the  dining  room. 
Such  an  arrangement  results  in  a  great  saving 
of  broken  china  as  well  as  in  added  conven- 
ience. This  kind  of  a  china  cupboard  may  be 
made  very  decorative  by  putting  small-paned 
or  leaded  glass  doors  on  the  dining-room  side 
and  treating  the  wooden  doors  at  the  back  like 
the  wood  trim  of  the  room,  which  makes  an 
effective  setting  for  the  china. 


of  cheerfulness  maj  be  given  b)  the  warmth 
of  color  in  the  room.    A  ri<  !  and  decision 

of  wall  coloring  that  would  grow  wearisome  in 
a  room  lived  in  all  the  time  has  all  the  pleasant 
and  enlivening  effects  of  a  change  when  seen 
occa  ionally  in  a  dining  room.  If  the  dining 
room  i-  l"  be  a  part  of  the  living  room,  it  is 
well  to  plan  it  as  one  would  a  large  recess. 
Tii  that  case  the  color  scheme  should,  of  course, 
be  in  close  harmony  with  that  of  the  living 
room;  bul  even  then  it  may  strike  a  stronger 


1  'ublishcd    in    The    I  raft 


ANOTHER    FORM    OF    BUILT-IN    SIDEBOARD    WITH    LINEN*    DRAWERS   ON    EITHER   SIDE.      THIS   IS   INTENDED  TO   FILL  THE 
WHOLE    SPACE    ACROSS    THE    END    OF    THE    DINING    ROOM. 


If  possible,  the  (lining  room  should  have  an 
exposure  that  gives  it  plenty  of  light  as  well 
as  air.  The  windows  play  such  an  important 
part  in  the  decoration  of  a  room  that  a  pleas- 
ant outlook  is  greatly  to  be  desired.  The 
brilliance  of  a  sunny  exposure  may  always  lie 
tempered  by  a  cool  ami  restful  color  scheme 
in  walls  and  woodwork.  On  the  other  hand. 
if  the  room  has  a  shady  exposure  and  threat- 
ens to  be  somber  on  dark  days,  an  atmosphere 


and  more  vivid  note  in  the  walls,  while  the 
woodwork  remains  uniform  throughout.  A 
large  screen  placed  in  the  opening  of  the  recess 
may  be  made  very  decorative  if  it  serve  as  a 
link  in  the  color  scheme  as  well  as  the  leading 
element  in  that  pleasant  little  sense  of  mystery 
that  always  accompanies  a  glimpse  of  some- 
thing partially  unseen. 

Nowhere  more  than  in  the  dining  room  is 
evidenced    the    value    of    structural    features. 


no 


TI1K    DIXIMi    ROOM 


Almost  all  the  decorative  quality  of  the  room 
depends  upon  them.  In  addition  to  wainscot 
and  ceiling-  beams, — or  instead  of  them  if  the 
room  be  differently  planned, — the  charm  of 
well  placed  windows,  large  and  small ;  of 
built-in  cupboards,  sideboards  and  cabinets  for 
choice  treasures  of  rare  china  or  cut  glass ;  of 
shelves  and  plate  rack ;  of  window  ledge  and 
window  seat ;  and  above  all  of  a  big  cheery 
fireplace,  is  as  never-ending  as  the  ingenuity 
which  gives  to  each  really  beautiful  room  ex- 
actly what  it  needs.  And  always  it  should  be 
remembered  that,  in  the  dining  room  as  in  the 


living  room,  there  should  be  one  central  struc- 
tural  leal  me  which  dominates  all  the  rest. 

Some  examples  of  these  ruling  features  are 
given  in  the  accompanying  illustrations.  In 
one  there  is  the  wide  sideboard  built  into  a 
recess  surmounted  by  three  casement  windows 
and  flanked  by  a  small  china  cupboard  on 
either  side.  In  another  a  wide  window  is  re- 
cessed, giving  a  broad  ledge  for  the  growing 
things  that  always  add  beauty  and  life  to  a 
room.  Still  another  recessed  window  shows 
a  row  of  small-paned  casements  with  plant 
ledge  and  a  well  cushioned  seat  below. 


Published   in    The    C  raftsman,    July,    I  ■ 

A   GROUP   OF   CRAFTSMAN    SHOWER   LIGHTS    SWINGING   FRJ.M    A   BEAM    OVER   A   LONG  DINING   TABLE.      THIS   IS   ONE   OF 
THE   MOST  EFFECTIVE    METHODS   WE    HAVE  FOUND  OF    MANAGING   THE   LIGHTS    IN    A    DINING    ROOM. 


141 


A     CONVENIENT    AND    WELL  EQUIPPED 
THAT  SIMPLIFIES  THE   HOUSEWORK 


KITCHEN 


EACH  room  in  the  house  has  its  distinct 
and  separate  function  in  the  domestic 
economy.  Therefore  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  before  any  room  can 
attain  its  own  distinctive  individuality  every- 
thing put  into  it  must  be  there  for  some  n  a 
son  and  must  serve  a  definite  purpose  in  the 
life  that  is  to  be  lived  and  the  work  that  is 
to  be  clone  in  that  room.  Take  for  example 
the  kitchen,  where  the  food  for  the  house- 
In 'Id  must  he  prepared  and  where  a  large  part 
of  the  work  of  the  house  must  be  done.  This 
is  the  room  where  the  housewife  or  the  serv- 
ant maid  must  be  for  the  greater  part  of  her 


good  fortune  to  associate  such  a  room  with 
their  earliest  recollections  of  home.  No  child 
ever  lived  who  could  resist  the  attraction  of 
such  a  room,  for  a  child  has,  in  all  its  purity, 
the  primitive  instinct  for  living  that  ruled  the 
simpler  and  more  wholesome  customs  of  other 
days,  in  these  limes  of  more  elaborate  sur- 
roundings the  home  life  of  the  family  is  hid- 
den behind  a  screen  and  the  tendency  is  to 
belittle  that  part  of  the  household  work  by  re- 
garding it  as  a  necessary  evil.  Even  in  a  small 
house  the  tendency  too  often  is  to  make  the 
kitchen  the  dump  heap  of  the  whole  house- 
hold, a  place  in  which  to  do  what  cooking  and 


Craft 


CORNER   OF   THE    KITCHEN    SHOWING    BUILT-IN    CUPBOARD    AND    SINK. 


time  day  after  day,  and  the  very  first  requisites 
are  that  it  should  be  large  enough  for  com- 
fort, well  ventilated  and  full  of  sunshine,  and 
that  the  equipment  for  the  work  that  is  to  be 
done  should  be  ample,  of  good  quality  and, 
above  all,  intelligently  selected.  We  all  know 
the  pleasure  of  working  with  good  tools  and 
in  congenial  surroundings ;  no  more  things 
than  are  necessary  should  be  tolerated  in  the 
kitchen  and  no  fewer  should  be  required. 

We  cannot  imagine  a  more  homelike  room 
than  the  old  New  England  kitchen,  the  special 
realm  of  the  housewife  and  the  living  room  of 
the  whole  family.  Its  spotless  cleanliness  and 
homely  cheer  are  remembered  as  long  as  life 
lasts  by  men  and  women  who  have  had  the 


dishwashing  must  be  done  and  to  get  out  of 
as  soon  as  possible.  In  such  a  house  there  is 
invariably  a  small,  cheap  and  often  stuffy  din- 
in-  room,  as  cramped  and  comfortless  as  the 
kitchen  and  yet  regarded  as  an  absolute  neces- 
sity in  the  household  economy.  Such  an  ar- 
rangement is  the  result  of  sacrificing  the  old- 
time  comfort  for  a  false  idea  of  elegance  and 
its  natural  consequence  is  the  loss  of  both. 

In  the  farmhouse  and  the  cottage  of  the 
workingman,  where  the  domestic  machinery 
is  comparatively  simple,  cheerful  and  home- 
like, the  kitchen, — which  is  also  the  dining 
room  of  the  family  and  one  of  its  pleasantest 
gathering  places, — should  be  restored  to  all 
its    old-time    comfort    and    convenience.      In 


U'2 


A   CONVENIENT   AND    WELL-EQUIPPED    KITCHEN 


planning  such  a  house  it  should  come  in  for 
the  first  thought  instead  of  the  last  and  its  use 
as  a  dining  room  as  well  as  a  kitchen  should 
be  carefully  considered.  The  hooded  range 
should  be  so  devised  that  all  odors  of  cooking 
are  carried  off  and  the  arrangement  and  ven- 
tilation should  be  such  that  this  is  one  of  the 
best  aired  and  sunniest  of  all  the  rooms  in  the 
house. 

Where  social  relations  and  the  demands  of 
a  more  complex  life  make  it  impossible  for  the 
house  mistress  to  do  her  own  work  and  the 
kitchen  is  necessarily  more  separated  from 
the  rest  of  the  household,  it  may  easily  be 
planned  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
case  without  losing  any  of  its  comfort,  conven- 
ience, or  suitability  for  the  work  that  is  to 
be  done  in  it.  Modern  science  has  made  the 
task  very  easy  by  the  provision  of  electric 
lights,  open  plumbing,  laundry  conveniences, 
and  hot  and  cold  running  water,  so  that  the 
luxuries  of  the  properly  arranged  modern 
kitchen  would  have  been  almost  unbelievable 
a  generation  ago.  Even  if  the  kitchen  is  for 
the  servant  only,  it  should  be  a  place  in  which 
she  may  take  some  personal  pride.  It  is 
hardly  going  too  far  to  say  that  the  solution 
of  the  problem  of  the  properly  arranged  kitch- 
en would  come  near  to  being  the  solution  also 
of  the  domestic  problem. 

The  properly  planned  kitchen  should  be  as 
open  as  possible  to  prevent  the  accumulation 
of  dirt.  Without  the  customary  "glory  holes" 
that  sink  and  other  closets  often  become,  gen- 


FLOOR    PLAN. 


uine  cleanliness  is  much  easier  to  preserve 
and  the  appearance  of  outside  order  is  not  at 
all  lessened.  In  no  part  of  the  house  does  the 
good  old  saying,  "a  place  for  everything  and 
everything  in  its  place,"  apply  with  more  force 
than  in  the  kitchen.  Ample  cupboard  space 
for  all  china  should  be  provided  near  the  sink- 
to  do  away  with  unnecessary  handling  and  the 
same  cupboard,  which  should  be  an  actual 
structural  feature  of  the  kitchen,  should  con- 
tain drawers  for  table  linen,  cutlery  and 
smaller  utensils,  as  well  as  a  broad  shelf  which 
provides  a  convenient  place  for  serving.  The 
floor  should  be  of  cement  and  the  same  ma- 
terial may  be  used  in  tiled  pattern  for  a  high 
wainscot,  giving  a  cleanly  and  pleasant  effect. 


I  ■_. 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  September,   1905. 
RANGE   SET   IN    A    RECESS   TO   BE   OUT   OF   THE    WAY    AND    WORK    TABLE    PLACED    JUST    BELOW    A    CROUP    OF    WINDOWS. 

143 


THE    TREATMENT    OF   WALL  SPACES  SO   THAT   A 
ROOM  IS   IN  ITSELF    COMPLETE    AND   SATISFYING 


SO  much  of  the  success  of  any  scheme  of 
interior    decoration    or    furnishing    de- 
pends upon  the  right  treatment  of  the 
wall  spaces  that  we  deem  it  best  to  take 
up  this  subject  more  in  detail  than  it  has  been 
possible  to  do  in  the  general  descriptions  of 
the  houses  or  even  of  the  separate  rooms. 

It    goes    without    saying   that    we    like    the 
friendly  presence  of  much  wood  and  are  very 


practical  value  in  the  life  of  the  household,  as 
such  furnishings  mean  great  convenience, 
economy  of  space  and  the  doing  away  with 
many  pieces  of  furniture  which  might  other- 
wise be  really  needed,  but  which  might  give 
the  appearance  of  crowding  that  is  so  disturb- 
ing to  the  restfulness  of  a  room. 

When   the   walls   are   rightly   treated,    it   is 
amazing  how  little  furniture  and  how  few  or- 


; 





£i- 


TV 


Fublishcd  in   The  Craftsman,  October,   Z004. 

A    HIGH    WAINSCOT    MADE   WITH   RECESSES   TO    HOLD   CHOICE  BITS   OF  METAL  OR  EARTHENWARE.      THIS  IS  ESPECIALLY 

BEAUTIFUL  IF   CARRIED  OUT   IN   CHESTNUT   OR   GUMWOOC    TREATED   IN    THE   CRAFTSMAN    MANNER. 


sensible  of  the  charm  of  beams,  wainscots  and 
built-in  furnishings  which  are  a  part  of  the 
house  itself  and  so  serve  to  link  it  closer  to 
the  needs  of  daily  life.  Bare  wall  spaces,  or 
those  covered  with  pictures  and  draperies 
which  are  put  there  merely  for  the  purpose  of 
covering  them,  are  very  hard  to  live  with. 
But  wall  spaces  that  provide  bookcases,  cup- 
boards, built-in  seats  for  windows,  fireside  and 
other  nooks  are  used  in  a  way  that  not  only 
gives  to  them  the  kind  of  beauty  and  interest 
which  is  theirs  by  right,  but  makes  them  of 


naments  and  pictures  are  required  to  make  a 
room  seem  comfortable  and  homelike.  The 
treatment  of  wall  spaces  in  itself  may  seem 
but  a  detail,  yet  it  is  the  keynote  not  only  of 
the  whole  character  of  the  house  but  of  the 
people  who  live  in  it.  We  hear  much  criti- 
cism of  the  changing  and  remodeling  which 
is  deemed  necessary  every  year  or  two  because 
a  house  must  be  "brought  up  to  date"  or  be- 
cause the  owners  "grow  so  tired  of  seeing  one 
thing  all  the  time."  Yet  both  of  these  reasons 
are  absolutelv  valid  so  far  as  thev  go,  for  the 


144 


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THE   TREATMENT   OE   WALL   SPACES 


majority  of  houses  are  in  themselves  so  unin- 
teresting that  it  is  little  wonder  that  the  peo- 
ple who  live  in  them  have  always  a  sense  of 
restlessness  and  discontent,  and  that  they  are 
always  doing  something  different  in  the  hope 
that  eventually  they  may  find  the  thing  which 
satisfies  them. 

We  believe  that  the  time  to  put  thought 
into  the  decoration  of  a  home  is  when  we 
first  begin  to  draw  up  the  plans,  and  that  the 
first  consideration  in  each  room  should  be  the 
adjustment  of  the  wall  spaces  so  that  there 
is  not  a  foot  of  barren  or  ill-proportioned 
space  in  the  entire  room.  It  is  true  that  utility 
and  the  limitations  of  the  plan  are  necessarily 
the  first  considerations;  that  the  ceilings  of 
all  the  rooms  on  one  story  must  be  of  uniform 
height  in  a  house  where  the  expense  of  con- 
struction is  a  thing  to  be  considered ;  that 
windows  must  be  placed  where  they  will  admit 
the  most  light  and  that  doors  are  meant  to 
serve  as  means  of  communication  between 
rooms  or  with  the  outer  world.  Yet  working 
strictly  within  these  limitations,  it  is  quite 
possible  to  adjust  the  height  of  each  room  so 


Published   in   The   Craftsman,  June,  1905. 

WALL    DIVIDED    INTO   PANELS    BY    STRIPS    OF    WOOD. 

that,  no  matter  what  may  be  its  floor  space, 
to  all  appearances  its  proportions  are  entirely 
harmonious ;  to  place  doors  and  windows  so 
that,  instead  of  being  mere  holes  in  the  wall, 
they  become  a  part  of  the  whole  structural 
scheme,  and  to  see  that  in  shape  and  propor- 
tions as  well  as  in  position  they  come  into  en-' 
tire  harmony  with  the  rest  of  the  room. 


Published   in    7/ 


C  ritftsman,    Uctot 


LOW    WAINSCOT    WITH    BROAD    PANELS.      NOTE   THE    PLACING  OF  THE  WINDOW  SO  THAT  IT  REALLY   FORMS   A   DECORA- 
TIVE   PANEL    IN    THE    WALL    SPACE    ABOVE. 


145 


THE   TREATMENT   OF    WALL  SPACES 


- 


i  !  ill  ■  • 


Published  in  The   Craftsman,  June,  1905. 
ATTRACTIVE    TREATMENT    OF    WALLS    IN     A    BEDROOM     OR 
WOMAN'S    SITTING    ROOM. 

Naturally,  in  considering  the  treatment  of 
the  wall  spaces,  the  most  important  feature  is 
the  woodwork,  especially  if  the  room  is  to  be 
wainscoted.  Where  this  is  possible,  we  would 
always  recommend  it,  particularly  for  the  liv- 
ing rooms  of  a  house,  as  no  other  treatment 
of  the  walls  gives  such  a  sense  of  friendliness, 
mellowness  and  permanence  as  does  a  gener- 
ous quantity  of  woodwork.  The  larger  illustra- 


tions reproduced  here  give  some  idea  of  what 
we  mean  and  of  what  may  be  done  with  wall 
spaces  when  it  is  possible  to  use  much  wood  in 
the  shape  of  wainscot  and  beams.  It  will  be 
noted  that  in  each  case  the  wall  is  of  the  same 
height;  yet  owing  to  the  treatment  of  the  spaces, 
each  one  appears  to  be  different.  Also  note  the 
way  in  which  windows,  doors  and  fireplace 
form  an  integral  part  of  the  structural  scheme 
and  how  they  are  baLanced  by  the  wall  spaces 
around  them  so  that  the  whole  effect  is  rather 
that  of  a  well  planned  scheme  of  structural 
decoration  than  of  the  introduction  of  a  purely 
utilitarian  feature. 

When  we  speak  of  the  friendliness  of  wood- 
work, however,  we  mean  woodwork  that  is  so 
finished  that  the  friendly  quality  is  apparent, 
— which  is  never  the  case  when  it  is  painted 
or  stained  in  some  solid  color  that  is  foreign 
to  the  wood  itself,  or  is  given  a  smooth  glassy 
polish  that  reflects  the  light.  When  this  is 
done  the  peculiar  quality  of  woodiness,  upon 
which  all  the  charm  of  interior  woodwork  de- 
pends, is  entirely  destroyed  and  any  other  ma- 
terial might  as  well  be  used  in  the  place  of  it. 
In  a  later  chapter  we  purpose  to  deal  more 


Published    in    Ttte    L  raftsman,    October,    1907. 

TREATMENT    OF    WAINSCOTED    WALL    IN    A    LIVING    ROOM    WHERE    THE    PANELING    IS    REPEATED    IN    THE    FRIEZE    AND 

THE  FIREPLACE  IS   PERFECTLY   PROPORTIONED  IN  RELATION    TO  THE   WALL   SPACES   ON   EITHER   SIDE. 


Ufi 


THE   TREATMENT   OF   ^\AIT   SPACES 


fully  with  the  question  of  finishing  interioi 
woodwork  so  that  all  its  natural  qualities  of 
color,  texture  and  grain  are  brought  out  by  a 
process  which  ripens  and  mellows  the  wood 
as  if  by  age  without  changing  its  character  at 
all.  Here  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  any  of  our 
native  woods  that  have  open  texture,  strong 
grain  and  decided  figure, — such  as  oak,  chest- 
nut, cypress,  ash,  elm  or  the  redwood  so  much 
used  on  the  Pacific  coast, — are  entirely  suitable 
for  the  woodwork  of  rooms  in  general  use,  and 
that  each  one  of  them  may  be  so  finished  that 
its  inherent  color  quality  is  brought  out  and 
its  surface  made  pleasantly  smooth  without 
sacrificing  the  woody  quality  that  comes  from 
frankly  revealing  its  natural  texture. 

The  first  illustration  (page  144)  shows  a 
wainscot  that  is  peculiarly  Craftsman  in  de- 
sign. The  panels  are  very  broad  and  what 
would  be  the  stiles  in  ordinary  paneling  are 
even  broader.  At  the  top  of  each  panel  is  a 
niche  in  which  may  be  set  some  choice  bit  of 
pottery  or  metal  work  that  is  shown  to  the 
best  advantage  by  the  wood  behind  it  and 
that  serves  to  give  the  accents  or  high  lights 
to  the  whole  color  scheme  of  the  room.     The 


Published   in   The   Craftsman,  June,  190$. 
TREATMENT   OF   PLAIN    WALLS    WITH    LANDSCAPE    FRIEZE. 

wall  space  above  is  of  plain  sand-finished 
plaster  that  may  either  be  left  in  the  natural 
gray  or  treated  with  a  coat  of  shellac  or  wax 
which  carries  the  color  desired.  The  rough 
texture  of  the  plaster  has  the  effect  of  seem- 
ing to  radiate  color,  while  it  absorbs  the  light 
instead  of  reflecting  it  as  from  a  smoothly 
polished  surface,  and  when  the  color  is  put  on 
lightly  enough  to  be  a  trifle  uneven  instead  of 
a  dead  solid  hue  without  variation  of  any  sort, 
there  is  a  chance  for  the  sparkle  and  play  of 
lisrht    which    at    once    adds    life    and    interest. 


Published  in    The  Craftsman,   October,  190;. 

WALL    WITH    A    HIGH    WAINSCOT    IN    WHICH    THE    DOOR    AND     WINDOW     ARE     MADE    A     PART    OF    THE     STRUCTURAL 
DECORATION:     THE  LEADED  PANELS   IN"    WINDOW   AND  DOOR  ADD    MUCH    TO   THE    BEAUTY   OF  THE   ROOM. 


H7 


THE   TREATMENT   OF   WALL  SPACES 


Published  in    The  Craftsman,  August,  1005. 

TREATMENT  OF  WALLS  IN  A  NURSERY.  PLAIN  ROUGH  PLASTER  BELOW  AND  A  SHADOWY  SUGGESTION  OF  A  FOREST 
IN  THE  FRIEZE.  BY  THIS  ARRANGEMENT  THE  SURFACE  OF  THE  LOWER  WALL  IS  EASILY  KEPT  CLEAN  AND  YET  ALL 
APPEARANCE    OF    BARRENNESS    IS    AVOIDED. 


Published  in  The  Craftsman,  August,  190?. 

ANOTHER  SUGGESTION  FOR  THE  TREATMENT  OF   NURSERY    WALLS,  SHOWING  A  PICTURE  DADO  ILLUSTRATING   NURSERY 
TALES  AND  A    BLACKBOARD   BUILT    INTO   THE   WAINSCOT    WITHIN    EASY   REACH    OF   THE   LITTLE   ONES. 


HS 


FLOORS      THAT      COMPLETE 
SCHEME    OF    A    ROOM 


THE     DECORATIVE 


OXE  of  the  must  important  elements  in 
the  success  of  a  room  designed  to  be 
beautiful  as  a  whole  in  structure  and 
color  scheme,  is  the  floor.  Whether 
it  be  a  more  or  less  elaborate  parquet  floor  or 
one  made  simply  of  plain  boards,  it  must  be  in 
harmony  with  the  color  chosen  for  the  wood 
trim  of  the  room.  Also  it  should  invariably 
be  at  least  as  dark  as  the  woodwork,  if  the 
effect  of  restfulness  is  to  be  preserved.  A 
floor  that  strikes  a  higher  note  of  color  than 
the  woodwork  above  it,  even  if  it  be  otherwise 
harmonious  in  tone,  gives  the  room  a  top- 
heavy,  glaring  effect  that  no  furniture  or  dec- 
oration will  remove. 

Full  directions  for  finishing  floors  will  be 
given  later  in  the  chapter  on  wood  finishes. 
While  the  Craftsman  method  of  finishing 
woodwork  differs  widely  from  others,  it  does 
not  apply  so  much  to  the  floor,  for  here  a 
tiller  should  be  used  for  precisely  the  same  rea- 
son that  it  should  be  avoided  in  the  treatment 
of  furniture  and  woodwork,  as  it  destroys  the 
texture  of  the  wood  by  covering  it  with  a 
glassy,  smooth  and  impervious  surface.  Text- 
ure is  not  needed  in  the  wood  of  a  floor,  which 


should  be  entirely  smooth  and  non-absorbent. 

The  first  of  the  three  floors  illustrated  here 
is  meant  to  complete  the  color  scheme  of  a 
room  in  which  the  woodwork  is  of  silver  -im; 
maple  and  the  furniture  and  decorations  are 
in  delicate  tones  such  as  would  naturally  har- 
monize with  gray.  The  floor  is  very  simple 
in  design,  having  a  plain  center  of  silver-gray 
maple  that  is  finished  exactly  like  the  wood- 
work of  the  room.  Around  the  edge  is  a  wide 
border  of  "mahajua,"  a  beautiful  Cuban  hard- 
wood, close  and  smooth  in  grain  and  left  in 
its  natural  color,  which  is  a  greenish  gray 
slightly  darker  than  the  finish  of  the  maple. 

The  second  floor  is  made  of  quartered  oak 
in  the  natural  color,  and  the  boards  are  bound 
together  with  keys  of  vulcanized  oak.  Where 
the  floor  is  stained  to  match  the  woodwork  in 
tone,  the  color  value  of  boards  and  keys  will 
remain  the  same,  as  the  vulcanized  oak  keys 
will  simply  show  a  darker  shade  of  whatever 
color  is  given  the  boards  of  plain  oak.  The 
last  illustration  shows  a  floor  of  quartered  oak 
in  the  natural  color  combined  with  vulcanized 
oak  and  white  maple  to  form  a  border  in 
which  a  primitive   Indian   design   appears. 


October,  1905. 


A    FLOOR    OF    SILVER-GRAY    MAPLE    AXD    MAHAJUA. 


l-l!) 


-  x 

• 

I 

V 

J 

a 

i 

Y- 

w 

X 

X 

m 

£ 

X 

V 

v 

& 

I 

f 

I 

E 

Published  in   The  Craftsman    Oi      bet     190$. 

FLOOR    OI     NATURAL    OAK    INLAID    WITH     KEYS    OF    VULCANIZED    OAK. 


Published   in    The   Craftsman,   October,   l'i  15. 


FLOOR    OF    OAK    INLAID    WITH    MAPLE.      BORDER    IN    INDIAN    DESIGN. 
150 


AN  OUTLINE  OF  FURNITURE  MAKING  IN  THIS  COUN- 
TRY: SHOWING  THE  PLACE  OF  CRAFTSMAN  FURNI- 
TURE IN  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  AN  AMERICAN  STYLE 


THIS  book  is  meant  to  give  a  compre- 
hensive idea  of  the  elements  that  go  to 
make  up  the  typical  Craftsman  home. 
Therefore  at  least  one  chapter  must  be 
devoted  to  Craftsman  furniture,  for  in  the 
making  of  this  we  first  gave  form  to  the  idea 
of  home  building  and  furnishing  which  we 
have  endeavored  to  set  forth.  For  this 
reason,  and  because  the  furniture  has  so  far 
remained  the  clearest  concrete  expression  of 
the  Craftsman  idea,  we  are  here  illustrating 
a  few  of  the  most  characteristic  pieces  that 


scope  of  their  experience,  for,  after  the  first 
primitive  days  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  in  New 
England  and  the  earliest  settlers  in  the  South, 
the  life  of  the  Colonists  was  modeled  closely 
upon  that  of  the  old  country  and  this  life 
naturally  found  expression  in  their  dwellings 
and  household  belongings.  Therefore  the 
Colonial  style  was  so  close  to  the  prevailing 
style  of  the  eighteenth  century  that  it  may 
be  regarded  as  practically  the  same  thing. 

After  the  end  of  the  Colonial  period,  and 
during  the  swift  expansion  that  followed  the 


ONE  OF  THE  LARGEST  AND    MOST   MASSIVE   OF  THE   CRAFTSMAN   SETTLES;    MADE  OF  FL'MED  OAK;   SOFT   LEATHER    SEAT. 


serve  to  show  all  the  essential  qualities  of  the 
style. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  understand 
clearly  the  reasons  which  led  to  the  making 
of  Craftsman  furniture,  and  its  place  in  the 
evolution  of  a  distinctively  American  style 
that  bids  fair  eventually  to  govern  the  great 
majority  of  our  dwellings  and  household  be- 
longings, we  will  first  briefly  review  the  his- 
tory of  furniture  making  in  this  country. 
With  the  older  styles,  such  as  the  English  and 
the  Dutch  Colonial,  we  have  little  to  do.  They 
were  importations  from  older  civilizations,  as 
were  the  Colonists  themselves,  and  they  ex- 
pressed the  life  of  the  mother  country  rather 
than  that  of  the  new.  When  we  first  began 
to  make  furniture  in  this  country,  the  cabinet- 
makers naturally  followed  their  old  traditions 
and  made  the  kind  of  furniture  which  most 
appealed  to  them  and  which  came  within  the 


Revolution,  there  was  inevitably  a  return  to 
the  primitive.  Importations  from  the  old 
world  were  no  longer  popular  and  while  the 
houses  of  the  wealthy  were  still  furnished 
with  the  graceful  spindle-legged  mahogany 
pieces  of  earlier  days,  most  of  the  people  were 
forced  to  content  themselves  with  much  plain- 
er and  more  substantial  belongings.  Little 
chair  factories  sprang  up  here  and  there,  es- 
pecially in  Maine,  Vermont  and  Massachu- 
setts, and  these  supplied  the  great  demand 
for  the  plain  wooden  chairs  that  we  now  cal! 
kitchen  chairs,  and  the  cane-seated  chairs 
which  were  usually  reserved  for  use  in  the 
best  room.  As  the  demand  increased  with 
the  increasing  population,  the  alert  and  re- 
sourceful New  Englander  began  to  invent 
machinery  which  would  increase  his  output. 
As  a  consequence,  the  business  of  chair  mak- 
ing   made    rapid    growth,    but    the    primitive 


151 


FIRMTUiK    MAKING    IN    THIS   COUNTRY 


AX    ARM-CHAIR     \.\li   ROI  KER    lll\l     \m     l.l    111    FOR 
COW  FORI    AS    U  El  L    \  -    in   R  \l:ll.l  rv. 

beaut}-  of  the  hand-made  pieces  was  lost. 
The  Windsor  chairs,  with  their  perfect 
proportions,  subtle  modeling  and  slender 
legs  shaped  with  the  turning  lathe,  be- 
came a  thing  of  the  past,  for  in  the 
factories  it  was  necessary  from  a  busi- 
ness point  of  view  to  effect  the  utmost 
savings  in  material  and  also  to  consider 
the  limitations  of  the  machinery  of  that 
day.  The  object  of  the  manufacturer 
naturally  was  to  turn  out  the  greatest 
possible  quantity  of  goods  with  the  least 
possible  amount  of  labor  and  expense, 
and  the  result  was  so  many  modifications 
of  the  original  form  that  the  factory- 
made  chairs  soon  become  commonplace 
When  machines  were  invented  to  take 
the  place  of  hand  turning  and  carving, 
it  was  inevitable  that  vulgarity  should 
be   added   to   the    commonplaceness,    be 


cause  it  i  use  bad  lines  with 

cheap  ornamentation. 

Side   by  side  with  these  chair   factories 
another   furniture   industry   was    springing 

up,  mainly  in  the  Middle  West  because  that 
was  the  black  walnut  country  and  black 
walnut  was  the  material  most  in  demand 
for  the  more  elaborate  furniture.  At  the 
same  time  that  the  New  Englander  was 
evolving  from  the  artisan  who  carried  on 
his  work  with  the  aid  of  a  little  water  mill. 
to  a  manufacturer  who  owned  a  chair 
factory  run  by  machinery,  a  number  of 
i  icrman  cabinetmakers  who  had  settled  in 
Indiana  and  the  neighboring  states  were  ac- 
cumulating, by  means  of  industry  and 
thrift,    enough    means    to    set    up    general 


LARGE    CRAFTSMAN    LOUNGING    CHAIR. 


LARGE  OCTAGONAL  TABLE,  TOP  COVERED  WITH   HARD  LEATHER. 
DESIGXED    FOR    LIBRARY    OR    LIVING    ROOM. 

furniture  factories,  which  supplied  the  country 
-vith  black  walnut  '"parlor  suits,"  upholstered 
vi  ttli  haircloth,  repps  or  plush,  while  the  New 
Englander  remained  content  to  furnish  it  with 
dining  room  and  kitchen  chairs. 

This  period  in  our  furniture  corresponds 
with  the  architectural  phase  in  this  country 
which  has  aptly  been  termed  the  "reign  of 
terror,"  but  we  are  in  some  measure  consoled 
for  the  hideous  bad  taste  of  it  all  by  the  re- 
flection that  it  w7as  contemporary  with  the 
early  and  mid-Victorian  period  in  England, 
a  term  that  everywhere  stands  for  all  that  is 
ugly,  artificial  and  commonplace  in  household 
art.  It  was  succeeded  by  the  first  of  the  Grand 
Rapids  furniture,  which  was  in  some  measure 
a  change  for  the  better.  Tempted  by  the 
success  of  the  German  furniture  makers,  the 


1.52 


FURNITURE    MAKING   IN  THIS   COUNTRY 


shrewd  New  England 
manufacturers,  with 
their  superior  knowl- 
edge of  machinery, 
managed  to  plant 
themselves  in  the 
Middle  West  and  to 
distance  their  com- 
petitors. The  center 
of  these  new  manu- 
facturing interests 
was  then  in  Grand 
Rapids,  Michigan,  so 
that  the  new  style  of 
furniture  which  was 
produced  came  to  be 
known  as  Grand 
Rapids  furniture.  It 
was  plainer  than  the  black  walnut  furniture 
and  was  fashioned  more  after  the  Colonial 
models,  but  the  best  features  were  speedily 
lost  in  the  ornamentation  with  which  it  was 
overlaid,  as  well  as  in  the  modification  and 
adaptation  of  the  earlier  forms  by  a  new  gen- 
eration of  designers,  who  had  studied  foreign 
furniture  and  so  gained  a  smattering  of  the 
traditional  styles  which  they  proceeded  to 
apply  to  the  creation  of  "novelties."  About 
this  time  the  large  department  stores  sprang 
up  and,  as  they  very  soon  became  the  principal 
retailers,  they  naturally  assumed  control  of 
the  furniture  that  was  made.  The  demand 
for  novelties  was  unceasing  and  the  designer 
was  at  the  beck  and  call  of  the  traveling  sales- 
man, who  in  his  turn  was  compelled  to  supply 
a  ceaseless  stream  of  new  attractions  to  the 
head  of  the  furniture  department, — whose 
business  it  was  constantly  to  whet  the  public 


low  rocker  and  drop-leaf  sewing  table  with  three 
drawers;  the  upper  one  having  a  sliding  tray  made 
of  cedar  with  compartments  for  spools. 


appetite     for     further 
novelties. 

The  greater  part 
of  the  demand  thus 
created  was  satisfied 
by  the  Grand  Rapids 
f  u  ni  i  t  u  r  e,  but  as 
wealth  and  culture 
increased,  and  peo- 
ple became  more  and 
more  familiar  with 
European  homes  and 
European  luxuries, 
the  new  vogue  for 
the  "period"  furniture 
sprang  up  among  the 
richer  class,  and 
some  of  the  factor- 
ies turned  their  attention  to  endeavoring  to 
duplicate  the  several  styles  of  French  and  Eng- 
lish furniture  of  the  seventeenth  and  eight- 
eenth centuries.  These  factories  are  still 
running,  some  of  them  being  employed  in 
turning  out  the  closest  imitation  they  can  make 
of  the  "period"  furniture  and  others  in  re- 
producing Colonial  models. 

While  we  were  doing  these  things  in  Amer- 
ica, Ruskin  and  Morris  had  been  endeavor- 
ing to  establish  in  England  a  return  to  handi- 
crafts as  a  means  of  individual  expression 
along  the  several  lines  of  the  fine  and  indus- 
trial arts.  This  gave  rise  over  there  to  the 
Arts  and  Crafts  movement,  which  was  based 
chiefly  upon  the  expression  of  untrammeled 
individualism.  Much  furniture  was  made, — 
some  of  it  good,  but  a  great  deal  of  it  show- 
ing  the   eccentricities   of   personal    fancy    un- 


ROUND  TABLE   THAT   IS    WELL   ADAPTED  TO   GENERAL   USE. 


CHESS  OR  CHECKER  TABLE  HAVING  TOP  COVERED  WITH 
HARD  LEATHER  MARKED  OFF  INTO  SQUARES  FOR  THE 
BOARD. 


153 


FURNITURE   MAKING   IN   THIS   COUNTRY 


A  BOOKCASE  THAT  IS  A  GOOD  EXAMPLE  OF  THE  DECORA- 
TIVE  USE   OF   PURELY    STRUCTURAL    FEATURES. 

modified  by  .any  settled  standards.  It  was  a 
move  in  the  right  direction  because  it  meant 
a  return  to  healthy  individual  effort  and  a 
revolt  from  the  dead  level  established  by  the 
machines.  But  the  Arts  and  Crafts  workers 
have    not    succeeded    in    establishing    another 


permanent  style  in  English  furniture  for  the 
reason  that  they  have  striven  for  a  definite 
and  intentional  expression  of  art  that  was 
largely  for  art's  sake  and  had  little  to  do  with 
satisfying  the  plain  needs  of  the  people.  Al- 
though the  founders  of  the  movement  held 
and  preached  the  doctrine  that  all  vital  art 
necessarily  springs  from  the  life  of  the  people, 
it  is  nevertheless  recognized  even  by  their 
followers  that  in  practice  such  expression  as 
they  advocate  belongs  to  the  artist  alone  and 
that  the  people  care  very  little  about  it. 


RUSH 
WRITI 


SEATED  CHAIR    AND  DROP   LEAF   TABLE    WITH    SEPARATE 
NG    CABINET. 


A     LIGHT     WRITING    TABLE     FOR    A     LIVING     ROOM     OR 
SMALL      SITTING     ROOM. 

It  was  during  this  same  period  that  the 
movement  called  L'Avt  Nouveau  sprang  up 
in  France  and  for  a  time  attained  quite  a 
vogue  under  the  leadership  of  Bing.  Bel- 
gium followed  suit  with  a  rather  heavier 
and  more  pronounced  interpretation  of  the 
distinctive  features  of  this  style  and  for 
a  few  years  the  plant  forms  and  swirling 
lines  that  distinguished  L' Art  Nouveau  pro- 
ductions were  very  popular.  In  Germany 
and  Austria  the  art  students  and  others  of 
the  more  restless  spirits  who  were  constant- 
ly in  revolt  from  the  established  styles  de- 
termined to  outdo  the  French  and  accor- 
dingly established  government  schools  for 
the  teaching  of  a  definite  style,  which  was 
called  New  Art  or  Secessionist  and  which 


154 


FURNITURE   MAKING    l.\    THIS    COUNTRY 


contained  some  of  the  features  of  L' Art 
Nouvcau  and  others  that  were  borrowed 
from  the  English  Arts  and  Crafts  and 
also  from  ancient  Egyptian  forms  of 
art.  The  French  school  has  already 
failed  in  the  efforts  to  establish  a  per- 
manent style,  and  the  indications  are 
that  the  efforts  of  the  German  and  Aus- 
trian Secessionists  will  prove  equally 
futile,  because  in  both  cases  the  work- 
ers have  merely  attempted  to  do  some- 
thing different  ;  to  evolve  a  new  thing 
by  combining  the  features  of  the  old. 
In  other  words,  they  began  at  the  top 
instead  of  beginning  at  the  bottom  and 
allowing  the  style  to  develop  naturally 


A   TYPICAL   CRAFTSMAN    LOUNGING 
CHAIR. 


A     LARGE     WRITING    DESK    FOR    THE    LIBRARY    OR    WORKROOM. 

from  the  sure  foundation  of  real  utility.  The  leaders  succeed- 
ed in  making  things  that,  whatever  their  relative  merits,  were 
a  new  departure;  but  this  once  made,  it  stood  as  a  completed 
achievement  that  might  be  imitated,  but  could  hardly  be  de- 
veloped, as  it  lacked  the  beginnings  of  healthy  growth. 

But  during  the  same  period  in  this  country  things  were  on  a 
different  basis.  Out  of  the  chaos  of  ideals  and  standards 
which  had  naturally  resulted  from  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
young  nation,  a  vigorous  and  coherent  national  spirit  was  be- 
ing developed,  and  amid  the  general  turmoil  and  restlessness 
attendant  upon  swift  progress  and  expansion,  it  became  ap- 
parent that  we  were  evolving  a  type  of  people  distinct  from 


A    LARGE   OAKEN    SETTLE    UPHOLSTERED    WITH    CRAFTSMAN     SOI  ]     LEATHER. 
STILL    SOFTER   AND    MORE   FLEXIBLE    SHEEPSKIN'. 


THE    PILLOWS    ARE    COVERED    WITH    THE 


155 


FURNITURE   MAKING    IN   THIS   COUNTRY 


all  others, — a  type  essentially  American.  And 
the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  this  type 
is  the  power  to  assimilate  so  swiftly  the  kind 
of  culture  which  leads  to  the  making  of  per- 
manent standards  of  life  and  art  that  it  is 
hardly  to  be  compared  with  what  might  seem 
to  be  the  corresponding  class  in  other  coun- 
tries. Such  Americans  have  fundamental  in- 
telligence and  the  power  of  discrimination, 
and  the  direct  thinking  that  results  from  these 
qualities  inevitably  produces  a  certain  open- 
ness of  mind  that   responds   very  quickly  to 


ness  alone.  In  this  country,  where  we  have 
no  monarchs  and  no  aristocracy,  the  life  of 
the  plain  people  is  the  life  of  the  nation ; 
therefore,  the  art  of  the  age  must  necessarily 
be  the  art  of  the  people.  Our  phases  of  im- 
itation and  of  vulgar  desire  for  show  are  only 
a  part  of  the  crudity  of  youth.  We  have  not 
yet  outgrown  them  and  will  not  for  many 
years ;  but  as  we  grow  older  and  begin  to 
stand  on  our  own  feet  and  to  cherish  our  own 
standards  of  life  and  of  work  and  therefore 
of  art,  we  show  an  unmistakable  tendency  to 


A   GROUP  OF  CRAFTSMAN   SPINDLE  FURNITURE.      THIS    IS     QUITE    AS    STRONG    AND    DURABLE    AS    THE    MORE    MASSIVE 
PIECES  BUT  IS  A  LITTLE  LIGHTER  IN  APPEARANCE. 


anything  which  seems  to  have  a  real  and  per- 
manent value. 

This  quality  was  shown  in  the  immediate 
recognition  and  welcome  accorded  to  Crafts- 
man furniture  when  we  first  introduced  it  ten 
years  ago.  Like  the  Arts  and  Crafts  furni- 
ture in  England,  it  represented  a  revolt  from 
the  machine-made  thing.  But  there  was  this 
difference :  The  Arts  and  Crafts  furniture 
was  primarily  intended  to  be  an  expression  of 
individuality,  and  the  Craftsman  furniture 
was  founded  on  a  return  to  the  sturdy  and 
primitive  forms  that  were  meant  for  useful- 


get  away  from  shams  and  to  demand  the  real 
thing. 

And  to  an  American  the  real  thing  is  some- 
thing that  he  needs  and  understands.  The 
showroom  quality  is  all  very  well  when  it 
comes  to  proving  how  much  money  he  has  or 
to  establishing  a  reputation  for  owning  thing> 
that  are  just  as  good  as  his  neighbor's.  But 
for  use  he  wants  the  things  that  belong  to 
him, — the  things  that  are  comfortable  to  live 
with ;  that  represent  a  good  investment  of  his 
money  and  have  no  nonsense  about  them. 
Furthermore  the  true  American  likes  to  know 


156 


FURNITURE   MAKING    IN  THIS   COUNTRY 


how  things  are  done.  His  interest  and  sym- 
pathy are  immediately  aroused  when  he  sees 
something  that  he  really  likes  and  knows  to 
be  a  good  thing,  if  he  is  able  to  feel  that,  if 
he  wanted  it  and  had  the  time,  he  could  make 
one  like  it  himself. 

So  strong  is  this  national  characteristic  that 
it  is  hardly  overstating  the  case  to  say  that 
in  America  any  style  in  architecture  or  furni- 
ture would  have  to  possess  the  essential  qual- 
ities of  simplicity,  durability,  comfort  and  con- 
venience and  to  be  made  in  such  a  wav  that 


SMALL  WRITING  DESK  FOR  A  WOMAN  S  SITTING 
ROOM    OR   FOR   THE    LIVING   ROOM 

the  details  of  its  construction  can  be 
readily  grasped,  before  it  could  hope 
to  become  permanent.  We  are  not  so 
many  generations  removed  from  our  pio- 
neer forefathers  that  we  have  grown 
entirely  out  of  their  way  of  getting  at 
things.  We  may  not  always  stop  to 
think  about  them,  but  when  we  do  our 
thought  is  apt  to  be  fairly  sound  and 
direct.  The  prevalence  of  cheap,  showy, 
machine-made  things  in  our  houses  is 
due  chiefly  to  the  lack  of  thought  that 


A  BIG  DEEP  CHAIR  THAT  MEANS  COMFORT  TO  A  TIRE1J 
MAN    WHEN    HE  COMES    HOME   AFTER  THE   DAY'S    WORK. 

takes  on  trust  the  word  of  the  dealers,  and 
every  year  brings  us  more  abundant  proof 
that  they  do  not  in  any  way  represent  the 
real  tastes  and  standards  of  the  people.  All 
machine-made  imitations  of  furniture  which 
belonged  to  another  country  and  another  age 
and  represented  the  life  of  a  totally  differ- 
ent people,  are  alike  to  the  average  Amer- 
ican. If  he  can  get  them  cheap,  he  has  at 
least  the  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  they  make 
a  pretty  good  otuward  show  for  the  money; 
if  they  are  expensive,  there  is  something  in 
being  able  to  afford  them  and  to  know  that 
his   house   has    in   it   rooms   which   are   fairly 


NO    BETTER    EXAMPLES    OF   THE    CRAFTSMAN    STYLE    CAN    BE 
FOUND  THAN    ARE   SHOWN    IN    THIS    CHAIR   AND   ROCKER. 

1.57 


FURNITURE   MAKING    IN    THIS   COUNTRY 


CRAFTSMAN'    SIDEBOARD    WHERE    WROUGHT    IRON    PULLS    AND 
HINGES    ARE    USED    IN    A    DECORATIVE    WAY. 

successful  imitations  of  the  rooms  in  French 
or  English  palaces  two  or  three  hundred  years 
ago.  But  in  all  this  there  is  no  real  thought 
and  nothing  that  approaches  it.  It  is  only 
when  a  thing  has  the  honest  primitive  quality 
that  reveals  just  what  it  is,  how  it  is  made 
and  what  it  is  made  for,  that  it  comes  home 
to  us  as  something  which  possesses  an  in- 
dividuality of  its  own.  It  is  not  an  elaborate 
finished  thing  made  by  machinery  with  intri- 
cate processes  which  we  cannot  understand  and 
about  which  we  do  not  care  in  the  least ;  it 


is  something  that  we  might  make  with 
our  own  hands.  Therefore  it  is  some- 
thing that  sets  us  to  thinking  and  estab- 
lishes a  point  of  contact  from  which 
springs  the  essentially  human  qualities 
of  interest  and  affection.  Understand- 
ing just  how  it  is  made,  we  are  in  a 
position  to  appreciate  exactly  what  the 
artisan  has  done  and  how  well  he  has 
done  it.  From  this  understanding 
comes  the  personal  interest  in  good 
work  that  alone  gives  the  vital  quality 
which  we  know  as  art. 

Many  people  misunderstand  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word  primitiveness,  mistaking 
it  for  crudeness,  but  the  word  is  used 
here  to  express  the  directness  of  a  thing 
that  is  radical  instead  of  derived.  In 
our  understanding  of  the  term,  the 
primitive  form  of  construction  is  that 
which  would  naturally  suggest  itself  to 
a  workman  as  embodying  the  main 
essentials  of  a  piece  of  furniture,  of 
which  the  first  is  the  straightforward  pro- 
vision for  practical  need.  Also  we  hold  that 
the  structural  idea  should  be  made  prominent 
because  lines  which  clearly  define  their  pur- 
pose appeal  to  the  mind  with  the  same  force 
as  does  a  clear  concise  statement  of  fact. 
This  principle  is  the  basis  from  which  the 
Craftsman  style  of  furniture  has  been  devel- 
oped. In  the  beginning  there  was  no  thought 
of  creating  a  new  style,  only  a  recognition 
of  the  fact  that  we  should  have  in  our  homes 
something    better    suited    to    our    needs    and 


•CRAFTSMAN    DINING  TABLE  AND  TWO  OF  THE    MORE   MASSIVE   DINING  CHAIRS,   ONE     UPHOLSTERED   IN    HARD   LEATHER 
.STUDDED    WITH    DULL   BRASS    NAILS    AND   THE   OTHER    MADE   OF    PLAIN   OAK    WITH    A    HARD   LEATHER    SEAT. 


158 


FURNITURE   MAKING    IN   THIS   COUNTRY 


SERVING  TABLE   AND  TWO  OF  THE  LIGHTER   DINING  CHAIRS,  SUITABLE  FOR  A   DINING   ROOM     TCO  SMALL  TO  TAKE  THE 
MORE  MASSIVE  FURNITURE  :    UPHOLSTERED   WITH   LEATHER. 


more  expressive  of  our  character  as  a  people 
than  imitations  of  the  traditional  styles,  and 
a  conviction  that  the  best  way  to  get  some- 
thing better  was  to  go  directly  back  to  plain 
principles  of  construction  and  apply  them  to 
the  making  of  simple,  strong,  comfortable 
furniture  that  would  meet  adequately  every- 
thing that  could  be  required  of  it. 

Because  Craftsman  furniture  expresses  so 
clearly  the  fundamental  sturdi- 
ness  and  directness  of  the  true 
American  point  of  view,  it  fol- 
lows that  in  no  other  country 
and  under  no  other  conditions 
could  it  have  been  produced 
at  the  present  day.  The  his- 
tory of  art  shows  us  that  a 
new  form  of  expression  never 
develops  from  the  top  and  that 
nothing  permanent  is  ever  built 
upon  tradition.  When  a  style 
is  found  to  be  original  and  vital 
it  is  a  certainty  that  it  has 
sprung  from  the  needs  of  the 
plain  people  and  that  it  is  based 
upon  the  simplest  and  most 
direct  principles  of  construction. 
This  is  always  the  beginning 
and  a  style  that  has  in  it  suffi- 
cient vitality  to  endure,  will 
grow  naturally  as  one  worker 
after  another  feels  that  he  has 
something  further  to  express. 
In  making  Craftsman  furniture 
we  went  back  to  the  beginning. 


seeking  the  inspiration  of  the  same  law  of 
direct  answer  to  need  that  animated  the 
craftsmen  of  an  earlier  day,  for  it  was  sug- 
gested by  the  primitive  human  necessity  of 
the  common  folk.  It  is  absolutely  plain  and 
unornamented,  the  severity  of  the  style  mark- 
ing a  point  of  departure  from  which  we 
believe  that  a  rational  development  of  the 
decorative    idea    will    ultimately    take    place. 


LARGE  SIDEBOARD  THAT  IS  USUALLY  MADE  IN  OAK  FINISHED  IN  A  VERY 
LIGHT  TONE  OF  BROWN,  WITH  PULLS  AND  HINGES  IN  DULL,  BROWNISH 
COPPER,  FORMING  A  DECORATIVE  EFFECT. 


159 


WILLOW    CHAIRS  AND   SETTLES    WHICH    HARMO- 
NIZE WITH  THE  MORE  SEVERE  AND  MASSIVE  FUR 
NITURE  MADE  OF  OAK 

a  part  of  the  general  impression,  instead  of  standing  out 
as    a    separate   article. 

In   the    Craftsman    houses   we   do   away    with   a   great 
deal  of  the  movable  furniture  by  the  use  in  its  place  of 
built-in  fittings,  which  are  made  a  part  of  the  structure 
of   the   house.     As  these   include   window   seats,   fireside 
seats,    settles,    bookcases,    desks,    sideboards,    china    cup- 
boards and  many  other  things,  it  will  easily  be  seen  that 
their  presence  not  only  adds  to  the  structural  interest  and 
beauty  of  the  room  itself,  but  makes  it  possible  to  dis- 
pense with  much  of  the  furniture  which  would  otherwise 
be  needed.     For  the  rest,   we  use   Craftsman   furniture 
where  it  is  necessary  to  have  pieces  of  wood  construction, 
but  we  relieve  any  possible  severity  of  effect  by  a  liberal 
use  of  willow  settles  and  chairs  which  afiford  the  best 
possible  foil  to  the  austere  lines,  massive  forms  and  sober 
coloring  of  the  oak.    We  select  willow  for  this  use  rather 
than  rattan,  because,  while  all  such  furniture  is  necessarily 
handmade,  the  rattan  pieces  are  usually  patterned  after  the 
elaborate   effects  that   we   have  learned  to   associate  with 
machine-made  goods,  and  so  have  none  of  the 
natural  interest  that  is   a  part  of   something 
which  grows  under  the  hand  and  is  shaped  as 
simply   as   possible  to   meet  the  purpose   for 
which  it  is  intended. 

The  charm  of  willow  is  that  it  is  purely 
a  handicraft,  and  obviously  so.  A  rattan 
chair  or  settle  mav  be  twisted  into  anv  fan- 


AN    ARM    CHAIR   OF    WOVEN    WILLOW. 


expressed 
furniture 


THE    opinion     is     frequently 
with    regard    to    Craftsman 
that  it  is  all  very  well  for  the  library, 
den    or    dining    room,    but    that    an 
entire  house  furnished  with  it  would  be  apt 
to  appear  too  severe  and  monotonous   in   its 
general  effect.     While  naturally  we  feel  that 
Craftsman      furniture 
is      equally      suitable 
for    every     room     in 
the     house,     we     are 
aware    that    there    is 
precisely     the     same 
element    of    truth    in 
this    criticism   that    it 
holds    when    applied 
to  any  kind  of  furni- 
ture.     The    point    is 
that  too  much  of  any 
one    thing    is    apt    to 
be    monotonous,    and 
the     way     we     avoid 
that    fault  in  a  Crafts- 
man   house  is  to  make 
the    furniture    entire- 
ly a  secondary  thing 
and   keep   it   as   little 
obtrusive     as     possi- 
ble,     so     that      each 
piece    sinks    into    its 
place    in    the    picture 
and    becomes    merely 


A    HIGH-BACK    SETTLE  OF   WILLOW   THAT    HARMONIZES    ADMIRABLY     WITH    THE    GEN- 
ERAL CHARACTER  OF  CRAFTSMAN  FURNITURE. 

160 


WILLOW   CHAIRS   AND   SETTLES 


tastic  form,  but  willow  furniture  is  essentially  of  basket 
construction.  Our  idea  in  making  the  kind  of  willow 
furniture  illustrated  here  was  to  gain  something-  based 
upon  the  same  principles  of  construction  that  charac- 
terize our  oak  furniture ;  that  is,  to  secure  a  form  that 
should  suggest  the  simplest  basket  work  and  the 
flexibility  of  lithe  willow  branches  and  yet  be  as  dur- 
able as  any  of  the  heavy  oak  furniture  which  is  em- 
phatically of  wood   construction. 

Consequently  these  pieces  are  basketry  pure  and 
simple  and  have  an  elastic  spring  under  the  pressure 
of  the  body  that  suggests  the  flexibility  of  baskets  such 
as  are  woven  by  the  fireside  or  on  the  back  porch  at 
the  edge  of  the  garden.  The  making  of  willow  furni- 
ture as  a  handicraft  is  rather  a  hobby  with  us,  for 
willow  is  a  material  beloved  of  the  craftsman  and  the 
work  is  very  interesting  and  comparatively  easy  to  do. 
The  trouble  is  that  so  many  people  are  inclined  to 
overdo  it  and  to  make  out  of  woven  willow  the  kind 
of  furniture  that  demands  wood  construction.  Seat 
furniture  alone  is  permissible  in  willow  and  yet  we 
frequently  see  tables,  racks  and  stands  of  various  kinds, 
and  even  the  front  of  a  bureau  or  a  dresser,  made  of 
this  material.  Such  misuse  is  a  pity,  the 
more  that  it  tends  to  create  a  prejudice 
again  against  willow  furniture  as  a  whole. 

The  pieces  shown  here  hold  in  their  beauty 
of  form  and  color  evidences  of  the  personal 
interest  of  the  worker.  The  willow  has 
been  so  finished  that  the  surface  has  the 
sparkle  seen  in  the  thin  branches  of  the 
growing  tree  as  it  becomes  lustrous  with 
the  first  stirring  of  the  sap.  This  natural 
sparkle    on    the    surface    of    willow    has    all 


WILLOW    CHAIR     MADE    ON     A     LOWER    AND 
UROADEK    MODEL. 


the  intangible  silvery  shimmer  of 
water  in  moonlight.  This  is  lost 
absolutely  when  the  furniture  made  of 
it  is  covered  with  the  usual  opaque  en- 
amel, which  not  only  hides  the  luster  of  the 
surface  but  gives  the  effect  of  a  stiff  uncom- 
promising construction  in  which  the  pliable- 
ness  of  the  basket  weave  is  entirely  oblit- 
erated and  all  the  possible  interesting  varia- 
tions of  tone  are  lost  under  the  smooth  surface. 
We  finish  our  willow  furniture  in  two 
colors ;   one   gives   the   general   impression   of 

green,    but    it    is 
h  really  a  variation 

!':b  of   s  o  f  t    w  o  o  d 

tones,  brown  and 
green,  light  and 
dark,  as  the  tex- 
ture  of  the 
withes  has  been 
smooth  or  rough. 
In  this  way  the 
silvery  luster  of 
the  willow  is  left 
undisturbed  and 
the  color  beneath 
is  like  that  of 
fresh  young  bark. 
The  other  color 
is  golden  brown 
in  which  there  is 
also  a  suggestion 

VERY    LARGE    WILLOW    SETTLE    MADE    AFTER    A    DESIGN    THAT    WE    HAVE    FOUND    MOST    SATIS-    of       Spring-like 
FACTORY     IN     RELATION     TO     THE     REGULAR     CRAFTSMAN      FURNITURE     OF     OAK.  grav    ar|d    green. 

161 


CRAFTSMAN  METAL  WORK :  DESIGNED  AND  MADE 
ACCORDING  TO  THE  SAME  PRINCIPLES  THAT  RULE 
THE  FURNITURE 


IN  a  room  decorated  according  to  Craftsman 
ideas, — especially  if  it  be  furnished  with 
Craftsman  furniture, — it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  the  metal  accessories 
should  be  of  a  character  that  fits  into  the  pic- 
ture. We  found  out  very  soon  after  we  began 
to  make  the  plain  oak  furniture  that  even  the 
best  of  the  usual  machine-made  and  highly 
polished  metal  trim  was  absurdly  out  of  place, 
and  that  in  order  to  get  the  right  thing  it 
was  necessary  to  establish  a  metal-work  de- 
partment in  the  Craftsman  Workshops  where 
articles  of  wrought  metal  in  plain  rugged  de- 
signs and  possessing  the  same  structural  and 
simple  quality  as  the  furniture  could  be  made. 
We  began  with  such  simple  and  necessary 
things  as  drawer  and  door  pulls,  hinges  and 
escutcheons,  but  with  a  work  so  interesting 
and  so  full  of  possibilities  as  this  one  thing 
inevitably  leads  to  another,  and  our  metal 
workers  were  soon  making  in  hand-wrought 
iron,  copper  and  brass  all  kinds  of  household 
fittings,  such  as  lighting  fixtures,  fire  sets,  and 
other  articles  that  were  decorative  as  well  as 


COPPER-FRAMED    LANTERN    THAT    IS   INTENDED    TO    HANG 
FROM    A  BRACKET  ATTACHED  TO   THE   WALL. 


LARGE   LANTERN    THAT    IS    BEST    FITTED    FOR    USE    IN    AN 
ENTRANCE    HALL   OR   VERANDA. 

useful,   and   that   showed   the   same   essential 
qualities  as  the  furniture. 

Since  then  we  have  not  only  made  all  man- 
ner of  metal  furnishings  ourselves,  but 
through  the  pages  of  The  Craftsman  we 
have  warmly  encouraged  amateur  workers  to 
do  the  same  thing  and  have  given  for  their 
use  a  number  of  models  as  well  as  full  direc- 
tions regarding  methods  of  working  and  the 
necessary  equipment  for  doing  all  kinds  of  sim- 
ple metal  work  at  home.  Under  the  inspiration 
of  these  suggestions  and  directions,  a  number 
of  readers  of  The  Craftsman  have  set  up 
little  home  workshops  and  have  succeeded  in 
making  many  pieces  that  show  originality  and 
merit.  In  fact,  metal  work  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  of  the  crafts  to  the  home  worker 
who  possesses  skill  and  taste  and,  above  all, 
a  genuine  interest  in  making  for  himself  the 
things  that  are  needed  either  for  use  or  orna- 
ment at  home,  and  anyone  who  takes  it  up 
and  discovers  its  possibilities  is  likely  to  go 
on  with  it  indefinitely.  Instruction  in  the  tech- 
nicalities is  easily  obtained  from  any  black- 
smith who  can  teach  the  rudiments  of  hand- 
ling iron,  or  from  any  working  jeweler  or 
coppersmith  who  is  able  to  give  the  necessary 
personal  supervision  to  the  first  efforts  of  a 
worker  in  brass  or  copper.  Given  even  a 
little   ingenuity   and    handiness   with   tools,    it 


162 


CRAFTSMAN    METAL   WORK 


might  be  possible  to  dispense  even  with  tins  instruction  and 
to  work  out  each  problem  as  it  comes  up;  learning  by  doing, 
in  the  simple  way  of  the  handicraftsman  of  old. 

It  ought  to  be  possible  for  such  home  workers  to  make 
everything  necessary  for  the  fireplace,  including  shovels  and 
tongs,  andirons,  fenders,  coal  buckets  and  even  fireplace  hoods, 
although  the  last  named  might  be  a  fairly  ambitious  under 
taking  for  an  amateur.  One  needs  but  little  imagination  to 
realize  the  interest  and  charm  that  would  attach  to  a  com- 
fortable fireside  nook   that   had  been    furnished    in   this 


T 


SMALL  SQUARE  LAN- 
TERN MEANT  TO  HANG 
FROM  THE  CEILING  OR 
AN    OVERHEAD   BEAM. 


SQ1  VRE  LANTERN  WITH 
AN  UNUSUALLY  DECO- 
RATIVE     COPPER      FRAME, 


way,  and  the  same  principle  applies  to  every  one  of  the 
smaller  articles  of  furniture  in  the  home.  For  ex- 
ample, it  is  not  at  all  hard  to  make  from  either  brass 
or  copper  a  tray  or  an  umbrella  stand,  a  simple  vase 
or   metal    jug  or     a     jardi- 

niere, and  the  ,--3^*^.  decorative 

quality     o  f 

really      won-  ^        #]        |^    derful;     that 

is,      if      t  h  e  A  '^F^pT\\~      worker   takes 

care    to    con-  a       l  V    \     \        fine      himself 

to  simple  /  in  \  \  good  designs  that  meet  as  directly  as 
possible  the  need  for  which  the  Q  I  I  Q  D  article  is  made,  and  then  makes  it 
just  as  well  as  he  can,  keeping  V  6  Q  0  \  free  from  the  temptation  so  com- 
mon to  metal  workers  of  artifi-       $  (     i       H       \        daily    heightening    the    "hand- 

mer  dents  where  they  have  no 
business     to    be,     leaving    the       Jt  j?       I        \         \       edges     rough     and     generally 

exaggerating   into   crudity   the      /  I       0         \  \      traces  of  workmanship  which, 

if   rightly   used,   give   to  "a  /  oil  \  piece    such    a    human    in- 

terest and  charm.    Much  of  M  X        O  4  \  the  effect  depends  upon  the 

way  the  metal  is  finished.         n  y     ^**^      \  \         F°r    example,    all    of    our 

vvrought-iron      work       is       a  V  ^!f    Ikv    \  a        finished   in  a   \\.i\    thai    ha 


ELECTROLIER  I.N  FUMED  OAK  AND  HAMMERED  COP- 
PER, ESPECIALLY  DESIGNED  FOR  HANGING  RATHER 
LOW   OVER   A   DINING  TABLE. 


long  been  known  in  England  as  "armor  bright."  This 
is  a  very  old  process  used  by  the  English  armorers, 
whence  it  derives  its  name,  and  its  peculiar  value  is  that 
it  finishes  the  surface  is  a  way  that  brings  out  all  the 
black,  gray  and  silvery  tones  that  naturally  belong  to 
iron,  and  also  prevents  it  from  rusting.  This  method 
applies  to  both  wrought  iron  and  sheet  iron  and  is  the 
only  thing  we  know  that  accomplishes  the  desired  result. 
one  of  the  little  The  process  itself  is  very  simple.  After  the  iron  is  ham- 
nterns  that  is  mered  it  should  be  polished  on  an  emerv  belt ;  or  if  this 
is  not  at  hand  and  it  is  not  convenient  to  borrow  the  use 
of  one  in  some  thoroughly  equipped  metal  shop,  emery 

163 


LA 

frequently 
with  the  shower 

LIGHTS. 


ELECTRIC  LANTERN  DE- 
SIGNED AS  A  FINIAL  TO 
A    NEWEL    POST. 


CRAFTSMAN   METAL   WOHK 


cloth — about  Number  <  >  may  be  used  in 
polishing  the  surface  by  hand. 

Then  the  iron  must  be  smoked  over  a  forge 
or  in  a  fireplace,  care  being  taken  to  avoid 
heating  it  to  any  extent  during  this  process, 
as  the  object  is  merely  to  smoke  it  thoroughly. 
It  should  then  be  allowed  to  cool  naturally  and 
the  surface  rubbed  well  with  a  soft  cloth 
dipped  in  oil.  Naturally,  the  more  the  iron 
is  polished  the  brighter  it  will  be,  especially 
in  the  higher  parts  of  an  uneven  surface, 
which  take  on  almost  the  look  of  dull  silver. 
After  this  the  piece  must  be  well  wiped  off 
so  that  the  oil  is  thoroughly  removed,  and  the 
surface  lacquered  with  a  special  iron  lacquer. 

To  give  the  copper  the  deep  mellow  brown- 
ish glow  that  brings  it  into  such  perfect  har- 
mony with  the  fumed  oak,  the  finished  piece 
should  be  rubbed  thoroughly  with  a  soft  cloth 
dipped  in  powdered  pumice  stone,  and  then 
left  to  age  naturally.  If  a  darker  tone  is  de- 
sired, it  should  be  held  over  a  fire  or  torch 
and  heated  until  the  right  color  appears.  Care 
should  be  taken  that  it  is  not  heated  too  long, 
as  copper  under  too  great  heat  is  apt  to  turn 
black.  We  use  no  lacquer  on  either  copper  or 
brass,  age  and  exposure  being  the  only  agents 
required  to  produce  beauty  and  variety  of  tone. 
All  our  brass  work  is  made  of  the  natural 
unfinished  metal,  which  has  a  beautiful  green- 
ish tone  and  a  soft  dull  surface  that  harmo- 
nizes admirably  with  the  natural  wood.  Like 
copper,    it    darkens    and    mellows    with    age. 


CHARACTERISTIC    CRAFTSMAN    HINGES,    DOOR    AND    DRAWER    PULLS,    KNOCKERS    AND   COAT    HOOKS,    ALL   DESIGNED    TO 
HARMONIZE    WITH    CRAFTSMAN    FURNITURE. 


164 


THE   KIND  OF   FABRICS  AND  NEEDLEWORK  THAT 
HARMONIZE   WITH   AND  COMPLETE  THE   CRAFTS 
MAN   DECORATIVE  SCHEME 


WE   have   traced    in    this  book   the   de- 
velopment of  the  Craftsman  scheme 
of  building  and   interior  decoration, 
beginning  with  the  house  as  a  whole 
and  thence  working  back  to  an  analysis  of 
the   different    rooms,    the    wall   spaces,   struc- 


i 


rORTlERE  OF  CRAFTSMAN  CANVAS  WITH  PINE  CONE 
DESIGN    IN    APPLIQUE. 

tural  features,  furnishings  and  metal  work, 
all  of  which  must  be  considered  separately  as 
essential  parts  of  the  complete  structure,  in- 
cluding the  decorative  scheme.  In  doing  this 
we  have  reversed  the  process  by  which  we 
worked  out  the  idea  in  the  first  place,  for  we 
began  ten  years  ago  with  the  furniture ;  the 
metal  work  followed  as  a  matter  of  course 
because  it  was  the  next  thing  needed ;  then 
the  dressing  of  leathers  to  harmonize  with  the 
style  of  the  furniture  and  the  wood  of  which 
it  was  made.     Then  came  the  finding:  of  suit- 


able fabrics  and  the  kind  of  decoration  most 
in  keeping  with  them,  and  from  all  these 
parts  was  naturally  developed  the  idea  of  the 
Craftsman  house  as  a  whole. 

At  first  it  was  very  difficult  to  find  just  the 
right  kind  of  fabric  to  harmonize  with  the 
Craftsman  furniture  and  metal  work.  It  was 
not  so  much  a  question  of  color,  although  of 
course  a  great  deal  of  the  effect  depended 
upon  perfect  color  harmony,  as  it  was  a  ques- 
tion of  the  texture  and  character  of  the 
fabric.  Silks,  plushes  and  tapestries,  in  fact 
delicate  and  perishable  fabrics  of  all  kind;-, 
were  utterly  out  of  keeping  with  Craftsman 
furniture.  What  we  needed  were  fabric- 
that  possessed  sturdiness  and  durability ;  that 
were  made  of  materials  that  possessed  a  certain 
rugged  and  straightforward  character  of  fiber, 
weave    and    texture, — such     a    character    a< 


PORTIERE   OF   CRAFTSMAN    CANVAS    WITH    CHECKERBERRY 
DESIGN    IN    APPLIQUE. 


1 65 


CRAFTSMAN   FABRICS  AND   NEEDLEWORK 


SASH  CURTAIN  OF  TEA-COLORED  NET  DARNED  IN  AN 
OPEN    PATTERN    WITH    SILVER-WHITE    FLOSS. 

would  bring  them  into  the  same  class  as 
the  sturdy  oak  and  wrought  iron  and 
copper  of  the  other  furnishings.  Yet  they 
could  not  be  coarse  or  crude,  for  that  would 
have  taken  them  as  far  away  from  the  quality 
of  the  furniture  on  the  one  side,  as  plushes 
and  brocades  were  on  the  other. 

For  upholstering  the  furniture  itself  we 
had  found  leather  more  satisfying  than  any- 
thing else,  especially  as  by  constant  experi- 
•  meriting  we  had  succeeded  in  developing  a 
method  of  dressing  that  preserved  all  the 
leathery  quality  in  much  the  same  way  that 
we  were  able  to  preserve  the  woody  quality 
of  the  oak,  so  that  the  leather  maintained  its 
own  sturdy  individuality,  at  the  same  time 
possessing  a  softness  and   flexibility  and  a  sub- 


SASH     CURTAIN     OF     CASEMENT     LINEN     WITH   FRETWORK 

I      I    .    .     IN     SOLID    DARNED     WORK. 

tlety  of  coloring  that  proved  wonderfully  at- 
tractive. This  was  especially  the  case  with 
sheepskin,  which  we  finished  in  all  the  subtle 
shades  of  brown,  biscuit,  yellow,  gray,  green, 
and  fawn,  but  always  with  the  leathery 
quality  predominant  under  the  light  surface 
tone.  These  leathers  accorded  so  well  with 
the  plain  oak  furniture  and  metal  work  that 
for  a  time  they  became  almost  too  popular, 
for  they  were  used  by  many  people  for  table 
covers,  portieres  and  the  like,  in  rooms  where 
rugged  effects  were  considered  desirable.  In 
fact,  the  fad  ran  to  such  lengths  that  it  for- 
tunately wore  itself  out  and  leather  was  al- 
<1  to  return  to  its  proper  uses. 
This  was  made  easier  by  the  discovery  of 
certain  fabrics  that  harmonize  as  completely 
as  leather  with  the  general  Craftsman  scheme. 
These  are  mostly  woven  of  flax  left  in  the 
natural  color  or  given  some  one  of  the  nature 
hues.  There  are  also  certain  roughly- woven, 
dull-finished  silks  that  fit  into  the  picture  as 


SCARF     OF     HAND-WOVEN     LINEN     WITH     PINE    CONE 
'.     IN     DARNED    WORK. 


SASH    CL-RTAIN    OF    CASEMENT     LINEN     WITH     ANOTHER 
FORM  OF   PINE   CONE   DESIGN   DONE    IN   DARNED  WORK. 


lfifi 


CRAFTSMAN    FABRICS   AND    NEHDLKWOKk 


TABLE  SCARF  OF  UNBLEACHED  HAND-WOVEN  LINEN 
WITH    DRAGONFLY    DESIGN    DARNED    IN    PERSIAN    COLORS. 

well  as  linen,  and  for  window  curtains  we 
use  nets  and  crepes  of  the  same  general  char- 
acter. A  material  that  we  use  more  than 
almost  any  other  for  portieres,  pillows,  chair 
cushions, — indeed  in  all  places  were  stout 
wearing  quality  and  a  certain  pleasant  un- 
obtrusiveness  are  required — is  a  canvas 
woven  of  loosely  twisted  threads  of  jute  and 
flax  and  dyed  in  the  piece, — a  method  which 
gives  an  unevenness  in  color  that  amounts 
almost  to  a  two-toned  effect  because  of  the 
way  in  which  the  different  threads  take  the 
dye.  This  unevenness  is  increased  by  the 
roughness  of  the  texture,  which  is  not  unlike 
that  of  a  firmlv  woven  burlap.    The  colors  of 


TABLE  SCARF  WITH  GINKGO  DESIGN  IN  APPLIQUE  OF 
DEEP  LEAF  GREEN    UPON    HOMESPUN   LINEN. 

the  canvas  are  delightful.  For  example, 
there  are  three  tones  of  wood  brown, — one 
almost  exactly  the  color  of  old  weather-beat- 
en oak  ;  another  that  shows  a  sunny  yellowish 
tone ;  and  a  third  that  comes  close  to  a  dark 
russet.  The  greens  are  the  foliage  hues, — 
one  dark  and  brownish  like  rusty  pine  need- 
les, another  a  deep  leaf-green ;  the  third  an 
intense  green  like  damp  grass  in  the  shade ; 
and  a  fourth  a  very  gray-green  with  a  bluish 
tinge  like  the  eucalyptus  leaf. 

Our  usual  method  of  decorating  this  canvas 
is  the  application  of  some  bold  and  simple 
design  in  which  the  solid  parts  are  of  linen 
applique  in  some  contrasting  shade  and  the 
connecting  lines  are  done  in  heavy  outline 
stitch  or  couching;  with  linen  floss.     This  sim- 


TABLE    SCARF    OF    HOMESPUN     LINEN     WITH    PINE    CONE         PILLOW   COVERED    WITH    CRAFTSMAN    CANVAS    AND   ORNA- 
DESIGN    IN   APPLIQUE.  MENTED    WITH     PINE    CONE    DESIGN   IN   APPLIQUE. 

167 


CRAFTSMAN   FABRICS    AND   NEEDLEWORK 


TABLE  SCARF  FOR  A  BEDROOM,  WITH  POPPY  DESIGN  IN 
DARNED    WORK. 

plicity  is  characteristic  of  all  the  Craftsman 
needlework,  which  is  bold  and  plain  to  a  de- 
gree. We  use  applique  in  a  great  many  forms, 
especially  for  large  pieces  such  as  portiere-, 
couch  covers,  pillows  and  the  larger  table 
covers.  For  scarfs,  window  curtains  and 
table  furnishings  of  all  kinds  we  are  apt  to 
use  the  simple  darning  stitch,  as  this  gives 
a  delightful  sparkle  to  any  mass  of  color. 
For  the  rest  we  use  the  satin  stitch  very 
occasionally  when  a  snap  of  solid  color  is 
needed  for  accenting  now  and  then  a  bit  of 
plain  hem-stitching  or  drawn  work.  It  is  the 
kind  of  needlework  that  any  woman  can  do 
and.   given  the   powder  of  discrimination  and 


taste  in  the  selection  of  materials,  designs 
and  color  combinations,  there  is  no  reason 
why  any  woman  should  not,  with  compara- 
tively little  time  and  labor,  make  her  home 
interesting  with  beautiful  and  characteristic 
needlework  that  is  as  far  removed  from  the 
"fancy  work"  which  too  often  takes  the  place 
of  it,  as  any  genuine  and  useful  thing  is 
removed  from  things  that  are  unnecessary. 

For  scarfs,  table  squares,  luncheon  and 
dinner  sets  and  the  like,  we  find  that  the 
most  suitable  fabrics  in  connection  with  the 
Craftsman  furnishings  are  the  linens,  mostly 
in  the  natural  colors  and  the  rougher  weaves. 


, 

POPPY  DESIGN   CARRIED  OUT   IN   APPLIQUE   TO  ORNAMENT 
THE    CORNER    OF   A    COUCH    COVER. 


SAME  POPPY  DESIGN  AS  APPLIED  TO  A  BEDSPREAD  OF 
HOMESPUN  LINEN. 

We  use  hand-woven  and  homespun  linens  in 
many  weights  and  weaves,  and  a  beautiful 
fabric  called  Flemish  linen,  which  has  a  matt 
finish  and  is  very  soft  and  pliable  to  the 
touch.  Some  of  these  come  in  the  cream  or 
ivory  shades  and  all  of  them  in  the  tones  of 
cream  gray  and  warm  pale  brown  natural 
to  the  unbleached  linen.  We  find,  as  a  rule, 
that  the  finer  and  more  delicate  white  linens 
do  not  belong  in  a  Craftsman  room  any  more 
than  silks,  plushes  and  tapestries  in  delicate 
colorings  belong  with  the  Craftsman  furni- 
ture. The  whole  scheme  demands  a  more 
robust  sort  of  beauty, — something  that  pri- 
marily exists  from  use  and  that  fulfils  every 
requirement.  The  charm  that  it  possesses 
arises  from  the  completeness  with  which  it 
answers  all  these  demands  and  the  honesty 
which  allows  its  natural  quality  to  show. 


16S 


CABINET  WORK  FOR  HOME  WORKERS  AND  STU- 
DENTS WHO  WISH  TO  LEARN  THE  FUNDAMENTAL 
PRINCIPLES  OF  CONSTRUCTION 


IN  the  brief  sketch  we  have  already  given 
of  furniture  making  in  this  country  we 
made  the  statement  that  one  of  the  chief 
elements  of  interest  in  Craftsman  furni- 
ture is  the  fact  that  its  construction  is  so 
simple  and  direct  and  so  clearly  revealed  that 
any  one  possessing  even  a  rudimentary  knowl- 
edge of  tools  and  of  drawing  and  some 
natural  skill  of  hand  could  easily  make  for 
himself  many  pieces  of  furniture  in  this 
style.  Believing  this  thoroughly,  and  also 
realizing  fully  the  interest  that  cabinetwork 
holds  for  most  people  and  the  means  it 
affords  of  developing  the  constructive  and 
creative  faculties,  we  have  given  in  The 
Craftsman  a  number  of  designs  solely  for 
the  benefit  of  home  workers.  For  a  year 
or  two  we  published,  in  connection  with  these 
designs,  full  working  drawings  and  also  mill 
bills  for  the  necessary  lumber ;  but  we  were 
forced  to  abandon  that  on  account  of  lack 
of  space  and  to  give  only  the  drawings  show- 
ing the  finished  pieces,  for  which  the  work- 
ing drawings  and  mill  bills  were  easily 
obtainable  upon  application. 

We  illustrate  here  a  number  of  these  de- 
signs, most  of  which  are  for  pieces  that  are 
fairly  easy  to  make  and  that  have  a  definite 
use  as  household  furnishings.  While  the  de- 
signs of  course  show  the  exact  models  of  the 
pieces  they  represent,  we  intend  them  to  have 
also  a  suggestive  value  and  to  stimulate 
thought  and  experiment  along  the  lines  of 
designing  and  making  plain  substantial  fur- 
niture.    It  has  been  proven  beyond  question 

that  the  most 
powerful  stimu- 
lus to  well-de- 
fi  n  e  d  construc- 
tive thought  is 
found  in  the  di- 
rection of  the 
mind  to  some 
form  of  creative 
work.  Therefore 
if  a  man  or  a 
boy  has  any  ap- 
t  i  t  u  d  e  along 
these  lines,  it  is 
a  foregone  con- 
clusion    that     he 

FIGURE  ONE. — SQUARE  TABOURET,      will        nOt       h  3.  V  e 


FIGURE     TWO. — A     ROUND 
TABOURET. 


made  many  pieces 
after  given  models 
before  he  begins  to 
think  for  himself  and 
to  make  or  modify 
designs  to  meet  his 
own  demands  and  to 
afford  an  opportunity 
for  working  out  his 
own  problems.  Fur- 
thermore, as  his  ex- 
perience grows,  he 
will  naturally  dis- 
cover new  ways  of 
doing  things  that 
may  be  better  for 
him  to  follow  than 
any  of  the  stereo- 
typed rules.  We  ap- 
prove thoroughly  of 
the  freedom  of  spirit 
that  leads  to  such  ex- 
perimenting, for,  al- 
though we  originated 
the  Craftsman  furni- 
ture, it  is  just  such  interest  and  work  on  the 
part  of  other  people  that  will  ultimately  de- 
velop it  into  a  national  style.  One  warning, 
however,  we  would  like  to  give  to  all  amateur 
workers:  that  is,  that  one's  own  whims  must 
no  more  be  followed  than  the  whims  of  other 
people.  We  will  find  plenty  of  interest  and 
occupation  in  making  things  that  are  actually 
needed  and  plenty  of  exercise  for  all  our 
creative  power  in  designing  them  to  fulfil  as 
adequately  as  possible  the  purpose  for  which 
they  are  intended.  So  long  as  this  is  done 
there  is  no  danger  of  the  work  degenerating 
into  a  fad ;  instead,  it  is  likely  not  only  to 
give  much  pleasure  and  profit  to  individuals, 
but  to  grow  until  the  whole  nation  once  more 
reaps  the  benefit  that  comes  from  the  intelli- 
gent exercise  of  the  creative  powers  in  some 
interesting   form   of  handicraft. 

Every  one  knows  the  relief  to  brain  work- 
ers and  to  professional  men  that  is  found 
in  this  kind  of  work.  It  not  only  affords  a 
wholesome  change  of  occupation  but  brings 
into  play  a  different  set  of  faculties  and  so 
proves  both  restful  and  stimulating.  A  pro- 
fessional or  business  man  who  can  find  relief 
from  his  regular  work  in  some  such  pursuit, 


169 


CABINET  WORK   FOR   HOME   WORKERS 


FIGURE 

which  he  takes  up  as  a  recreation,  does  better 
work  in  his  own  vocation  because  he  is  a 
healthier  and  better  balanced  man  and  his 
interest  in  his  home  grows  more  vivid  and 
personal  with  every  article  of  furniture  that 
he  makes  with  his  own  hands  and  according 
to  his  own  ideas. 

As  for  the  means  of  education  afforded 
by  this  kind  of  work,  we  have  no  better  proof 
than  is  shown  by  the  widespread  belief  in  the 
efficacy  of  manual  training  in  our  public 
schools,  although  to  a  practical  craftsman 
there  would  seem  to  be  plenty  of  room  for 

improvement,  both 
as  to  methods  of 
teaching  and  the 
quality  of  work- 
manship that  is  re- 
quired  from  the 
students.  Where 
manual  training  is 
taken  up  purely  on 
account  of  the  men- 
tal development  it 
affords,  there  is  a 
tendency  to  make  it 
entirely  academic. 
The  teachers  for 
the  most  part  rely 
almost  wholly  upon 
theory  and  have 
very  little  practical 
knowledge  of  the 
thing  they  teach. 
The  result  is  that  a 
boy  is  encouraged 
to  "express  his  own 
individuality"  in  de- 
figure  four. — child's  open  signing  and  making 
bookcase.  the   thing   that    ap- 


peals to  him  instead  of 
being  taught  sound  prin- 
ciples of  design  and  con- 
struction and  so  guided 
by  a  competent  worker 
that  all  his  own  work  is 
based  upon  these  prin- 
ciples and  is  thoroughly 
done.  If  the  work  is 
merely  regarded  as 
play,  the  theoretical  at- 
titude toward  the  ex- 
—  pression  of  in- 
dividuality     is 

THREE. — HALL  BENCH   WITH    CHEST,    all      right  ;     but 

if  it  is  regard- 
ed as  a  preparation  for  the  serious  business 
of  later  life,  the  result  shows  that  it  unfits 
the  student  for  real  work  in  just  such  mea- 
sure as  he  shows  an  aptitude  for  play  work. 
The  introduction  of  the  Craftsman  style 
has  practically  revolutionized  manual  train- 
ing in  our  public  schools,  because  it  has 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  teachers  designs 
of  such  simplicity  and  clearness  of  construc- 
tion that  the  work  of  teaching  has  been  made 
much  easier  and  the  field  of  manual  train- 
ing has  been  greatly  broadened.  Before  the 
introduction  of  Craftsman  furniture,  manual 
training  in  the  schools  rested  chiefly  upon 
sloyd,  which  was  confined  to  the  making  of 
small  articles  entirely  for  the  sake  of  the 
mental  development  afforded  by  the  intelli- 
gent use  of  the  hands.  Now,  however,  the 
students  of  manual  training  are  learning  to 


FIGURE  FIVE. CHESS  OR  CHECKER  TABLE. 


170 


CABINET   WORK  FOR  HOME   WORKERS 


make  furniture  after  such  models 
as  we  show  here  and  the  very  nec- 
essary element  of  usefulness  is 
added  to  the  things  they  make.  The 
only  difficulty  is  that  the  craft  itself 
is  not  well  enough  understood  by 
the  teachers  to  be  imparted  to  the 
students  in  such  a  way  that  they 
derive  any  permanent  benefit  from 
it.  The  teaching  is,  as  we  have  said, 
largely  theoretical  and  the  object 
of  the  whole  training  is  mental  development 
along  general  lines  rather  than  the  moral 
development  that  comes  from  learning  to  do 
useful  work  thoroughly  and  well.  As  cabinet- 
work is  handled  in  the  manual  training  de- 
partments of  the  schools,  it  is  distinctly  a 
side  issue,  and  exhibitions  of  the  work  to 
which  public  attention  is  frequently  invited 
show  ambitious  pieces  of  furniture  that  are 
wrongly  proportioned,  badly  put  together 
and  finished  in  a  slovenly  way,  thus  produc- 
ing exactly  the  opposite  effect  upon  the  pupil 
from  what  is  intended.  If  the  State  or  munic- 
ipal authorities  would  see  to  it  that  manual 
training  in  the  form  of  wood-working  of  all 
kinds,  and  especially  the  making  of  furni- 
ture, were  placed  under  the  charge  of  thor- 
oughly skilled  craftsmen  who  understood 
and  were  able  to  teach  all  the  principles  of 
construction,  the  moral  and  educational  effect 
of  such  work  would  be  almost  incalculable. 

In  order  to  make  the  training  of  any  real 
value,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  stu- 
dent begin  simultaneously  with  mechanical 
drawing  and  the  application  of  its  principles 


FIGURE  SIX. PIANO  BENCH,  STRONGLY  MADE  WITH   SOLID  ENDS 


FIGURE   SEVEN. — PORTABLE  CABINET  FOR   WRITING  TABLE. 

to  his  work  as  he  goes  along.  If  he  began 
with  simple  models  to  which  could  be  applied 
the  elementary  lessons  in  mechanical  drawing, 
the  laying  out  of  plans,  the  reading  of  detail 
drawings  and  the  like,  and  would  also  afford 
a  chance  to  demonstrate  lessons  in  the  use 
of  the  square,  the  level,  the  saw  and  the 
plane; — a  good  foundation  would  be  laid  not 
only  for  the  understanding  of  right  prin- 
ciples of  construction  but  for  the  accurate 
use  of  tools.  A  boy  trained  in  this  way 
would  be  able  in  future  years  to  put  his 
knowledge  to  almost  any  use  that  was  need- 
ed. Instead  of  this  the  students  endeavor  to 
make  something  that  is  interesting  and  that 
shows  well  at  home  or  in  an  exhibition.  In 
fact,  the  situation  now  is  very  much  as  it 
would  be  if  a  student  of  music  were  to  take 
two  or  three  lessons  in  the  rudiments  and 
then  endeavor  to  play  a  more  or  less  elab- 
orate composition.  There  is  no  question  as 
to  the  benefit  that  boys,  and  girls  too,  derive 
from  being  taught  to  work  with  their  hands ; 
but  it  is  better  not  to  teach  them  at  all  than 
to  give  them  the  wrong  teaching.  No  one 
expects  a  schoolboy  or  an 
amateur  worker  of  any  age  to 
make  elaborate  furniture  that 
would  equal  similar  pieces 
made  by  a  trained  cabinet- 
maker. But  if  the  student  be 
taught  to  make  small  and  sim- 
ple things  and  to  make  each 
one  so  that  it  would  pass 
muster  anywhere,  he  learns 
from  the  start  the  fundamental 
principles  of  design  and  pro- 
portion and  so  comes  natu- 
rally to  understand  what  is 
meant  by  thorough  workman- 
ship. 

There  is  no  objection 
to  any  worker,  however 
inexperienced,  attempt- 
ing to  express  his  own. 


171 


CABINET   WORK   FOR   HOME   WORKERS 


FIGURE    EIGHT. — CHILD'S    WRITING    DESK. 


individuality,  but  the  natural  thing  would 
be  for  him  to  express  it  in  more  or  less  prim- 
itive forms  of  construction  that  are,  so  far 
as  they  go,  correct,  instead  of  attempting 
something  that,  when  it  is  finished,  is  all 
wrong  because  the  student  has  not  under- 
stood what  he  was  about.  Unquestionably 
there  are  certain  principles  and  rules  as  to 
design,  proportion  and  form  that  are  as 
fundamental  in  their  nature  as  are  the  tables 
of  addition,  subtraction,  division  and  multi- 
plication, with  relation  to  mathematics,  or  as 
the  alphabet  is  as  a  basis  to  literature,  but 
they  are  not  yet  formulated  for  general  use. 
The  trained  worker  learns  these  things  by 
experience  and  comes  to  have  a  sort  of  sixth 
sense  with  regard  to  their  application, 
but  this  takes  strong  direct  thinking, 
keen  observation  and  the  power  of 
initiative  that  is  possessed  only  by  the 
very  exceptional  and  highly  skilled 
workman. 

Nevertheless  it  surely  is  as  easy  to 
begin  work  in  the  right  way  as  in  the 
wrong  way.  It  would  be  better  if  all 
our  teaching  of  manual  training  were 
based  upon  some  text  book  carefully 
compiled  by  a  master  workman  and  kept 
within  certain  well  defined  limits.  After 
the  student  had  thoroughly  learned  all 
that  lay  within  these  limits  and  was 
grounded    in    the    principles    of    design 


and  construction  as  carefully  as  he 
would  be  grounded  in  mathematics  or 
classical  literature,  he  might  safely 
be  trusted  to  produce  something  that 
would  express  his  own  individuality, 
for  then,  if  ever,  he  would  have  de- 
veloped an  individuality  that  was 
worth  while.  And  this  principle  ap- 
plies as  well  to  amateur  workers  of 
all  kinds  as  it  does  to  the  students 
in  the  public  schools,  for  it  is  the 
basis  of  all  work  that  is  worthy  to 
endure. 

One  great  advantage  of  taking  up 
cabinetmaking  at  home  as  well  as  in 
the  schools,  is  that  it  could  be  made 
not  only  a  means  of  amusement  or 
mental  development  to  the  individual, 
but  could  be  expanded  into  a  home  or 
neighborhood  handicraft  that  might 
be  carried  on  in  connection  with 
small  farming,  upon  a  basis  that 
would  insure  a  reasonable  financial 
Handicrafts,  as  practiced  by 
individual  arts  and  crafts  workers  in  the 
studio,  do  not  afford  a  sufficient  living  to 
craft  workers  as  a  class,  but  that  is  largely 
because  these  very  principles  of  sound  con- 
struction and  thorough  workmanship  are  not 
always  observed  or  even  comprehended,  so 
that  it  is  difficult  for  the  individual  worker  to 
produce  anything  that  has  a  definite  and  per- 
manent commercial  value.  This  kind  of  furni- 
ture, on  the  contrary,  has  a  very  well  defined 
and  thoroughly  established  commercial  value, 
as  our  own  experience  has  proven ;  and  yet  it 
is  so  simple  in  design  and  construction  that  it 
can  be  made  at  home  or  on  the  farm  during 
the  idle  months  of  winter  or  by  a  group  of 


success. 


FIGURE    NINE. — BRIDE  S    CHEST. 


172 


CABINET   WORK  FORJTHOME   WORKERS 


FIGURE    TEN. — BOOK    CABINET. 


workers  in  a  village,— in  fact  under  almost 
any  conditions  where  it  would  seem  advan- 
tageous to  do  such  work,  especially  under  the 
guidance  of  a  competent  cabinetmaker. 

Whether  regarded  as  one  of  the  forms  of 
a  profitable  handicraft  that  might  be  de- 
pended upon  as  a  means  of  support, — or  at 
least  of  adding  to  the  income  obtained  from 
a  small  farm, — or  whether  regarded  merely 
as  a  means  of  recreation  for  a  busy  man  dur- 
ing his  leisure  hours  at  home,  cabinetmak- 
ing  is  likely  to  prove  a  most  interesting  pur- 
suit. One  distinct  advantage  is  that  furniture 
made  in  this  way,  if  well  done,  would  be 
better  than  any  that  could  possibly  be  made 
in  a  factory,  because  the  work  would  natural- 
ly be  more  carefully  done.  Also  the  interest 
that  attaches  to  the  right  use  of  wood  could 
be  developed  to  a  much  greater  degree  than 
is  possible  where  the  work  is  done  on  a  large 
scale,  because  judgment  and  discrimination 
could  be  applied  to  the  selection  of  lumber 
that  is  without  any  special  market  value  ac- 
cording to  commercial  standards,  but  that 
has  in  it  certain  flaws  and  irregularities  that 
make  it  far  more  interesting  than  the  costlier 
lumber  necessary  for  purely  commercial 
work.  This  one  item  would  be  a  great  ad- 
vantage as  lumber  grows  scarcer  and  harder 
to  obtain.     Also,   the   furniture   itself   would 


have  much  more  individual  interest  because 
of  this  very  feature,  for  then  it  would  be 
possible  to  select  certain  pieces  of  wood  for 
special  uses  and  to  develop  to  the  utmost  all 
the  natural  qualities  of  color  and  grain  that 
might  prove  interesting  when  rightly  used 
and  in  the  right  place.  It  is  by  these  very 
methods  and  under  similar  conditions  that  the 
Japanese  have  gained  such  world-wide  fame 
as  discriminating  users  of  very  simple  and 
inexpensive  woods.  A  Japanese  regards  a 
piece  of  wood  as  he  might  a  picture  and  his 
one  idea  is  to  do  something  with  it  that  will 
show  it  to  the  very  best  advantage,  as  well 
as  gain  from  it  the  utmost  measure  of  use- 
fulness. 

Among  the  cabinet  woods  native  to  this 
country  and  easily  obtained  are  white  oak, 
brown  ash,  rock  elm,  birch,  beech  and  maple. 
Chestnut,  cypress,  pine,  redwood  and  gum- 
wood,    while   all    excellent   for   interior   trim, 


FIGURE   ELEVEN. — BOOKCASE    WITH  ADJUSTABLE   SHELVES. 


173 


CABINET  WORK   FOR   IIOME   WORKERS 


FIGURE    TWELVE. — SMALL    STAND 
FOR    USE    IN    A    BEDROOM. 


are  not  hard 
enough  to  give 
satisfactory  re- 
sults when  used 
for  the  making 
of  furniture.  Of 
those  first  men- 
tioned, white  oak 
is  unquestionably 
the  best  for  cab- 
inetmaking  and, 
indeed,  it  is  a 
wood  as  well 
suited  to  the 
Craftsman  style 
of  furniture  as 
the  Spanish 
mahogany  was  to 
the  French,  Eng- 
lish and  Colonial 
furniture  of  the 
eighteenth  cen- 
tury. Spanish 
mahogany  is  very 
rare  now  and  the 
modern  mahogany,  or  baywood,  is  very  little 
harder  than  whitewood  and  so  cannot  be  con- 
sidered particularly  desirable  as  a  cabinet 
wood.  The  old  mahogany  was  a  hard,  close- 
grained,  fine-textured  wood  that  lent  itself 
naturally  to  the  slender  lines,  graceful  curves 
and  delicate  modeling  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury styles.  In  addition  to  this  the  wood 
itself  was  so  treated  as  to  ripen  to  the  ut- 
most the  quality  of  rich  and  mellow  color- 
ing, which  was  one  of  its  distinctive  charac- 
teristics. The  boards  were  kept  for  months, 
and  some  of  them  for  years,  in  the  court- 
yards of  the  cabinet  shops,  where  sun  and 
rain  could  give  them  the  mellowness  of  age. 
Then  the  finished  pieces  were  treated  with 
linseed  oil  and  again  put  out  into  the  sun- 
shine to  oxidize,  this  process  being  repeated 
until  the  wood  gained  just  the  required  depth 
of  color  and  perfection  of  finish.  The  slow- 
ness of  this  process  and  the  care  and  skill 
required  to  produce  the  results  that  were 
aimed  at  makes  fine  mahogany  furniture  al- 
most an  impossibility  today,  except  to  the 
craftsman  who  may  be  able  to  afford  selected 
pieces  of  this  rare  and  almost  extinct  wood, 
and  who  has  sufficient  leisure  and  love  of  the 
work  to  treat  it  according  to  the  methods  of 
the  old  cabinetmakers.  Even  then  it  is  not 
suitable  for  the  plain  massive  furniture  that 


we  show  here  as  models  for  home  workers. 
The  severely  plain  structural  forms  that  we 
are  considering  now  demand  a  wood  of 
strong  fiber  and  markings,  rich  in  color,  and 
possessing  a  sturdy  friendly  quality  that 
seems  to  invite  use  and  wear.  The  strong 
straight  lines  and  plain  surfaces  of  the  furni- 
ture follow  and  emphasize  the  grain  and 
growth  of  the  wood,  drawing  attention  to 
instead  of  destroying  the  natural  character 
that  belonged  to  the  growing  tree.  As  the 
use  of  oak  would  naturally  demand  a  form 
that  is  strong  and  primitive,  the  harmony 
that  exists  between  the  form  and  construc- 
tion of  the  furniture  and  the  wood  of  which 
it   is   made   is   complete  and   satisfying. 

We  will  then  assume  that  oak  is  the  wood 
that  would  naturally  be  selected  by  the  home 
cabinetmaker  and  for  large  surfaces  such  as 
table-tops  and  large  panels,  quarter-sawn  oak 
is  deemed  preferable  to  plain-sawn,  as  the  first 
method,  which  makes  the  cut  parallel  with 
the  medullary  rays  that  form  the  peculiar 
wavy  lines  seen  in  quarter-sawn  oak,  not  only 
brings  out  all  the  natural  beauty  of  the  mark- 
ings, but  makes  the  wood  structurally  strong- 
er, finer  in  grain  and  less  liable  to  check  and 
warp  than  when  it  is  straight-sawn.  Care 
should  then  be  taken  to  see  that  the  wood 
is  thoroughly  dried,  otherwise  the  best  work 
might  easily  be  ruined  by  the  checking,  warp- 
ing, or  splitting  of  the  lumber.  Quarter- 
sawn  oak  is  the  hardest  of  all  woods  to  dry 
and  requires  the  longest  time,  so  that  it 
would  hardly  be  advisable  for  the  amateur 
cabinetmaker  to  attempt  to  use  other  than 
selected  kiln-dried  wood  that  is  ready  for  the 
saw  and  plane. 


FIGURE  THIRTEEN. — ROUND  TABLE, 


174 


CABINET  WORK  FOR   HOME   WORKERS 


FIGURE    FOURTEEN.- 
WASTE   BASKET. 


-WRITING    DESK    WITH    WILLOW 


The  work  of  construction  must  all 
be  done  before  the  wood  is  given  its 
final  finish ;  but  in  this  connection 
we  will  outline  briefly  the  best 
method  of  finishing  oak,  as  the 
sturdy  wooden  quality  of  the  furni- 
ture depends  entirely  upon  the  ability 
of  the  worker  to  treat  the  wood  so 
that  there  is  little  evidence  of  an 
applied  finish.  Oak  should  be  ripen- 
ed as  the  old  mahogany  was  ripened 
by  oil  and  sunshine,  and  this  can 
be  done  onlv  by  a  process  that,  with- 
out altering  or  disguising  the  nature 
of  the  wood,  gives  it  the  appearance 
of  having  been  mellowed  by  age  and 
use.  This  process  is  merely  fuming 
with  ammonia,  which  has  a  certain 
affinity  with  the  tannic  acid  that 
exists  in  the  wood,  and  it  is  the  only 
one  known  to  us  that  acts  upon  the 
glossy  hard  rays  as  well  as  the  softer 
parts  of  the  wood,  coloring  all  to- 
gether in  an  even  tone  so  that  the 


figure  is  marked  only  by  its  difference  in 
texture.  This  result  is  not  so  good  when 
stains  are  used  instead  of  fuming,  as  stain- 
ing leaves  the  soft  part  of  the  wood  dark 
and  the  markings  light  and  prominent. 

The  fuming  is  not  an  especially  difficult 
process,  but  it  requires  a  good  deal  of  care, 
for  the  piece  must  be  put  into  an  air-tight 
box  or  closet,  on  the  floor  of  which  has  been 
placed  shallow  dishes  containing  aqua  am- 
monia (26  per  cent).  The  length  of  time 
required  to  fume  oak  to  a  good  color  depends 
largely  upon  the  tightness  of  the  compart- 
ment, but  as  a  rule  forty-eight  hours  is 
enough.  When  fuming  is  not  practicable,  as 
in  the  case  of  a  piece  too  large  for  any  avail- 
able compartment  or  one  that  is  built  into  the 
room,  a  fairly  good  result  may  be  obtained 
by  applying  the  strong  ammonia  directly  to 
the  wood  with  a  sponge  or  brush.  In  either 
case  the  wood  must  be  in  its  natural  con- 
dition when  treated,  as  any  previous  applica- 
tion of  oil  or  stain  would  keep  the  ammonia 
from  taking  effect.  After  the  wood  so  treat- 
ed is  thoroughly  dry  from  the  first  applica- 
tion it  should  be  sandpapered  carefully  with 
fine  sandpaper,  then  a  second  coat  of  ammo- 
nia applied,  followed  by  a  second  careful 
sandpapering. 

Some  pieces  fume  much  darker  than  others, 
according  to  the  amount  of  tannin  left  free 
to  attract  the  ammonia  after  the  wood  has 


FIGURE   FIFTEEN. — TABLE   DESK. 


175 


CABINET   WORK  FOR   HOME   WORKERS 


FIGURE   SIXTEEN. — LIBRARY  TABLE. 


been  kiln-dried.  Where  any  sap  wood  has 
been  left  on,  that  part  will  be  found  unaffect- 
ed by  the  fumes.  There  is  apt  also  to  be  a 
slight  difference  in  tone  when  the  piece  is  not 
all  made  from  the  same  log,  because  some 
trees  contain  more  tannic  acid  than  others. 
To  meet  these  conditions  it  is  necessary  to 
make  a  "touch-up"  to  even  the  color.  This  is 
done  by  mixing  a  brown  aniline  dye  (that  will 
dissolve  in  alcohol)  with  German  lacquer,  com- 
monly known  as  "banana  liquid."  The  mix- 
ture may  be  thinned  with  wood  alcohol  to 
the  right  consistency  before  using.  In  touch- 
ing up  the  lighter  portions  of  the  wood  the 
stain  may  be  smoothly  blended  with  the  dark- 
er tint  of  the  perfectly  fumed  parts,  by  rub- 
bing along  the  line  where  they  join  with  a  piece 
of  soft  dry  cheese-cloth,  closely  following  the 
brush.  If  the  stain  should  dry  too  fast  and 
the  color  is  left  uneven,  dampen  the  cloth 
very  slightly 
with  alcohol. 
After  fuming, 
sandpapering 
touching  up  a  piece  of 
furniture,  apply  a  coat 
of  lacquer,  made  of 
one-third  white  shellac 
and  two-thirds  German 
lacquer.  If  the  fum- 
ing process  has  result- 
ed in  a  shade  dark 
enough  to  be  satisfac- 
tory, this  lacquer  may 
be  applied  clear;  if 
not,    it    mav    be    dark- 


ened by  the  addition  of  a 
small  quantity  of  the  stain 
used  in  touching  up.  Care  must  be 
taken,  however,  to  carry  on  the  color 
so  lightly  that  it  will  not  grow  muddy 
under  the  brush  of  an  inexperienced 
worker.  The  danger  of  this  makes 
it  often  more  advisable  to  apply  two 
coats  of  lacquer,  each  containing  a 
very  little  color.  If  this  is  done, 
sandpaper  each  coat  with  very  fine 
sandpaper  after  it  is  thoroughly  dried 
and  then  apply  one  or  more  coats 
of  prepared  floor  wax.  These  direc- 
tions, if  carefully  followed,  should 
give  the  same  effects  that  character- 
ize the  Craftsman  furniture. 

Sometimes  a  home  cabinetworker 
does  not  find  it  practicable  or  desir- 
able to  fume  the  oak.  In  such  a 
case  there  are  a  number  of  good  stains  on 
the  market  that  could  be  used  on  oak  as 
well  as  on  other  woods. 

Oak  and  chestnut  alone  are  susceptible  to 
the  action  of  ammonia  fumes,  but  in  other 
ways  the  oak,  chestnut,  ash  and  elm  come 
into  one  class  as  regards  treatment,  for  the 
reason  that  they  all  have  a  strong,  well-de- 
fined grain  and  are  so  alike  in  nature  that 
they  are  affected  in  much  the  same  way  by 
the  same  method  of  finishing.  For  any  one 
of  these  woods  a  water  stain  should  never 
be  used,  as  it  raises  the  grain  to  such  an 
extent  that  in  sandpapering  to  make  it  smooth 
again,  the  color  is  sanded  off  with  the  grain, 
leaving  an  unevenly  stained  and  very  un- 
pleasant surface.  The  most  satisfactory 
method  we  know,  especially  for  workers  who 
have  had  but  little  experience,  is  to  use  a 
small  amount  of  color  carried  on  in  very  thin 


FIGURE  SEVENTEEN. — LARGE  LIBRARY  TABLE. 


17« 


CABINET  WORK   FOR   HOME   WORKERS 


shellac.     If  the  commercial  cut 
shellac  is  used  it  should  be  re- 
duced with  alcohol  in  the  pro- 
portion of  one  part  of  shellac 
to  three  of  alcohol.    This  is  be- 
cause shellac,  as  it  is  ordinarily- 
cut  for  commercial  purposes,  is 
mixed  in  the  proportion  of  four 
pounds  to  a  gallon  of  alcohol, 
so  that  in  order  to  make  it  thin 
enough  it  is  necessary  to  add 
sufficient    alcohol    to    obtain    a 
mixture  of  one  pound  of  shellac 
to    a    gallon     of     alcohol.     If 
the  worker  does  his  own  cut- 
ting he  will  naturally  use  the 
proportion     last     mentioned, — 
one  pound  of  shellac  to  a  gallon  of  alcohol. 
When  the  piece  is  ready  for  the  final  finish, 
apply   a  coat  of  thin  shellac,   adding  a  little 
color   if  necessary;   sandpaper   carefully   and 
then  apply  one  or  more  coats  of  liquid  wax. 
These   directions  are  entirely   for  the  use  of 
home  workers.     The  method  we   use  in  the 
Craftsman  Workshops  differs  in  many  ways, 
for  we  naturally  have  much  greater  facilities 
for  obtaining  any  desired  effect  than  would  be 
possible  with  the  equipment  of  a  home  worker. 
For  lighter  pieces  of  furniture  suitable  for 
a  bedroom  or  a  woman's  sitting  room,  where 
dainty  effects  are  desirable,  we  find  maple  the 
most  satisfactory,  in  both  color  and  texture, 
of  our  native  woods,  for  the  reason  that  it  is 


FIGURE    EIGHTEEN. — SMALL   SIDEBOARD. 

177 


FIGURE  NINETEEN. — PLATE  RACK  TO  BE  PLACED  OVER  A  SIDEBOARD. 

hard  enough  to  be  used  for  all  kinds  of  furni- 
ture.    Gumwood   is  equally  beautiful,  but   is 
not  hard  enough  for  chairs.     For  built-in  fur- 
niture, however,  and  for  tables,  dressers  and 
the  like,  gumwood  is  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful woods  we  have,  as  it  takes  on  a  soft,  satin- 
like texture  with  variable  color  effects  not  un- 
like those  seen  in  the  finest  Circassian  walnut. 
We  find  that  the  best  effect  in  both  maple  and 
gumwood   is   obtained   by   treating  the   wood 
with  a  solution  of  iron-rust  made  by  throwing 
iron  filings  or  any  small  pieces  of  iron  into 
acid  vinegar  or  a  weak  solution  of  acetic  acid. 
After  forty-eight  hours  the  solution  is  drained 
off  and  diluted  with  water  until  the  desired 
color  is  obtained.    The  wood  is  merely  brushed 
over  with  this  solution, — wetting  it  thor- 
oughly,— and  left  to  dry.    This  is  a  process 
that    requires    much    experimenting    with 
small  pieces  of  wood  before  attempting  to 
treat  the  furniture,  as  the  color  does  not 
show   until   the   application   is   completely 
dry.     By  this  treatment  maple  is  given  a 
beautiful  tone  of  pale  silvery  gray  and  the 
gumwood   takes   on    a    soft   pale   grayish 
brown,   both   of   which   colors   harmonize 
admirably  with  dull  blue,  old  rose,  straw 
color,  or  any  of  the  more  delicate  shades 
so  often  used  in  furnishing  a  bedroom  or 
a  woman's  sitting  room. 

As  to  the  actual  construction  of  the 
pieces  shown  here,  it  is  in  most  cases  very 
simple.  By  a  careful  study  of  the  different 
models  it  will  be  noted  that  the  only  at- 
tempt at  decoration  lies  in  the  emphasiz- 
ing of  the  actual  structural  features,  such 
as  posts,  panels,  tenons  with  or  without 
the  key,  the  dovetail  joint  and  the  key  as 


CABINET  WORK  FOR   HOME   WORKERS 


it  is  used  to  strengthen  and  emphasize  the 
joining  of  two  boards.  For  the  rest,  the 
beauty  of  each  piece  depends  wholly  upon  the 
care  with  which  the  wood  is  selected,  the  pro- 
portions and  workmanship  of  the  piece,  and 
the  attention  that  is  given  to  the  delicate  details 
of  construction  and  to  the  finish  of  the  wood. 
In  Figures  i  and  2  we  illustrate  two  of  the 
simplest  models  we  have  ever  offered  for  the 
use  of  home  cabinetworkers.  They  are  two 
designs  for  small  tabourets  and  were  selected 
to  illustrate  the  first  article  on  home  training 
in  cabinetwork,  published  in  The  Craftsman 
in  April,  1905.  Therefore  from  the  point  of 
view  of  their  precedence  in  the  series,  no  less 
than  their  fitness  as  models  for  the  beginner, 
they  have  been  chosen  to  head  the  illustrations 
for  this  article.  In  the  case  of  both  of  them 
the  construction  shows  for  itself.  The  tenons 
of  the  legs  are  visible  through  the  top  of  the 
table,  where  they  are  firmly  wedged  and  then 
planed  flush  with  the  top.  This  not  only 
strengthens  the  table  very  considerably,  but 
the  difference  in  the  grain  of  the  wood  gives 
the  effect  of  four  small  square  inlays  in  each 
table  top.  Also  it  is  well  to  note  that,  in  cut- 
ting the  mortises  for  the  stretchers  of  the 
square  tabouret,  there  is  half  an  inch  differ- 
ence in  the  heights  of  the  two  stretchers.  A 
dowel  pin  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter 


FIGURE  TWENTY-ONE. — SMALL  LETTER  AND  PAPER  FILE. 

runs  all  the  way  through  the  legs  and  holds 
firm  the  tenons  of  the  stretchers,  making  it 
practically  impossible  for  the  table  to  rack 
apart.  These  pins  are  planed  off  flush  with 
the  sides  of  the  legs. 

Figures  3  and  6  illustrate  companion  pieces, 
the  first  being  a  hall  bench  and  the  second  a 
piano  bench.    Both  are  simple  to  a  degree,  yet 
the  proportions  are  so  contrived  that  the  effect 
of  each  is  individual  and  decorative.    The  out- 
ward slope  of  the  solid  end  pieces  gives  an 
appearance  of  great  strength  that  does   full 
justice  to  the  real  strength  of  both  benches. 
The  severity   of  these   end   pieces   is   rather 
lightened  by  the  curved  opening  at  the  bottom 
and  by  the  openings  at  the  top,  meant  in  each 
case    for    convenience   in   moving   the   bench. 
These  openings,  with  the  slight  projections  of 
the  tenons  at  the  ends,  form  the  only  decora- 
tion.    In  the  case  of  the  hall  bench,  a  shallow 
box  takes  the  place  of  the  curved  brace  that 
appears     under     the     seat     in     the 
piano     bench.     This     box     can     be 
used  to  hold  all  sorts  of  things  that 
ordinarily  accumulate  in  the  hall  and 
the  hinged  seat  lifts  like  a  lid  over  it. 
The  bench  can  be  made  in  any  desired 
length  to  fit  any  wall  space  without 
interfering    with    its    construction    or 
proportions. 

Figure  4  shows  a  small  open  book- 
case that  is  intended  for  the  use  of 
children.  All  housewives  know  that 
one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  in  keep- 
ing a  tidy  nursery  often  arises  because 
there  is  no  place  where  children  can 
easily  put  things  away  themselves. 
Closet  doors  are  hard  to  open  and  the 
shelves  too  high  to  be  of  use,  while 
shelves  and  brackets  are  usually  pur- 
posely out  of  reach  and  the  nursery 
table  is  apt  to  be  full.  This  little  book- 
case is  planned  especially  to  meet  just 
such  a  nursery  problem.  There  are  no 
figure  twenty. — combination  table  and  encyclopedia  bookcase,  doors  and  the  shelves  are  broad  and 


178 


CABINET   WORK   FOR   HOME   WORKERS 


low  enough  to  be  within  the  reach  of  very 
little  children.  The  shelves  are  not  adjustable 
but  are  put  in  stoutly  with  tenon  and  key  so 
that  they  are  never  out  of  place  and  never 
need  attention. 

Figure  5  shows  a  small  table  that  would 
prove  a  convenient  piece  of  furniture  in  a 
household  where  either  chess  or  checkers  hap- 
pens to  be  a  favorite  game.  The  legs  are 
slightly  tapering,  sloped  outward  and  are  made 
firm  with  bracket  supports  so  that  the  usual 
cross  supports  below,  which  would  interfere 
with  the  comfort  of  the  players  sitting  at  the 
table,  are  not  needed.  The  rails  under  the  top 
are  tenoned  to  the  legs.  In  a  case  like  this, 
where  two  or  more  rails  meet  with  the  ends 
opposite  each  other,  short  tenons  must  be  used 
with  two  dowel  pins  in  each  one  to  hold  it  in 
place.  These  pins  are  placed  near  the  edge  of 
the  table  legs  so  that  they  may  not  interfere 
with  the  tenoning  of  the  side  rails.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  dowel  the  bracket  supports  first 
to  the  legs  and  then  to  the  top  of  the  table,  in 
addition  to  the  glue  which  holds  them  in  place. 
The  small  drawer  is  made  in  the  regular  way, 
being  hung  from  the  top  instead  of  running 
on  a  center  guide  as  do  most  of  the  wider 
drawers  in  Craftsman  furniture.  The  checks 
on  the  table  top  may 
be  burned  into  the 
wood  or  a  dye  or  stain 
may  be  used  for  the 
dark  checks. 

Figure  7  shows  a 
small  portable  cabinet 
that  may  be  placed  on 
the  top  of  any  writing 
table.  It  is  provided 
with  little  compartments 
which  are  protected  by 
doors  with  flat  key  locks 
and  with  a  shelf  and 
pigeon-holes  for  papers 
and  books.  The  piece  is 
perfectly  plain  except 
for  the  slight  decorative 
touch  given  by  the  dove- 
tailing at  the  end,  but  if 
the  wood  is  well  chosen 
and  the  cabinet  carefully 
finished,  it  will  be  found 
an  attractive  as  well  as 
a  convenient  bit  of  fur- 
niture. 

Figure  8  illustrates  a 
child's  desk,  the  making 


FIGURE   TWENTY-TWO. — SMALL    REVOLVING    BOOK-RACK. 

of  which  would  be  an  especially  pleasant 
piece  of  work  for  the  home  craftsman,  be- 
cause there  is  no  article  of  miniature  furni- 
ture which  affords  the  children  so  much  de- 
light as  a  desk  where  they  can  work  like 
grown-up  folks  and  have  pads  and  pencils 
never  to  be  loaned  or  lost.  This  little  desk  is 
so  simple  that  the  small  members  of  the  family 
might  even  help  to  make  it  and  so  gain  some 
understanding  of  the  pleasure  of  making  their 
own  belongings.  The  construction  has  the 
same  general  features  that  have  already  been 
described  and  the  only  touch  of  decoration  is 
the  projection  of  the  two  back  posts  above 
the  small  upper  shelf. 

Figure  9   suggests   a   useful   and   desirable 
present  for  a  bride,  for  it  is  a  cedar-lined  chest 


FIGURE    TWENTY-THREE. — COMBINATION    BOOKCASE    AND    CUPBOARD. 


179 


CABINET   WORK   FOR   HOME   WORKERS 


intended  for  the  stor- 
ing of  linen  and  cloth- 
ing,— just  the  same 
sort  of  chest  as  the 
(German  maidens  use 
for  storing  away  the 
linen  they  weave  dur- 
ing their  girlhood.  In 
making  the  chest  the 
legs  are  first  built 
up,  then  the  front 
and  back  fastened  in; 
the  ends  and  bottom 
are  put  in  at  the 
same  time,  fitting  in 
grooves.  The  top  is 
simply  made,  with 
two  panels  divided  by 
a  broad  stile  which 
affords  support  for 
the  iron  strap-hinge 
that  extends  down  the 
side  to  be  fastened 
with  hasp  and  pad- 
lock. The  inside  of 
the  chest  is  lined 
with  cedar  boards,  so 
desirable  for  their 
pleasant  aromatic 
odor  and  for  their 
moth  -  preventing 
properties.  This  lining 
should  be  put  in  after  the  chest  is  made.  The 
iron  work  can  be  made  by  any  blacksmith 
from  the  drawing,  or  even  made  at  home  if 
the  amateur  cabinetworker  also  possesses  a 
forge. 

Figure  10  shows  a  book  cabinet  which  would 
be  convenient  in  a  workroom,  where  it  might 
stand  near  the  desk  or  table  of  the  worker 
and  provide  a  place  for  the  few  books  of  ref- 
erence that  are  in  constant  use,  as  well  as  for 
papers,  drawings  and  so  forth,  that  might 
otherwise  be  mislaid  or  scattered  in  confusion 
about  the  room.  The  cabinet  is  easy  to  make 
and  is  very  satisfying  in  line  and  proportion. 
The  shelf  that  covers  half  the  top  offers  room 
for  a  small  paper  rack  or  any  of  the  many 
things  that  have  to  be  within  reach  and  yet 
not  in  the  way. 

Figure  II  gives  a  model  for  a  bookcase 
having  two  drawers  below  for  papers  or 
magazines  and  three  adjustable  shelves  that 
can  be  moved  to  any  height  simply  by  chang- 
ing the  position  of  the  pegs  that  support  the 


FIGURE    TWENTY-FOUR.- 
HALL  CLOCK. 


shelves.  If  the  books  are  small,  an  additional 
shelf  might  be  put  in  if  required.  The  frame 
of  the  bookcase  is  left  plain,  the  smooth 
face  of  the  sides  being  broken  only  by  the 
slightly  projecting  tenons  at  the  top  and  bot- 
tom. The  edges  of  these  tenons  are  cham- 
fered off  and  carefully  sandpapered  so  that 
they  have  a  smooth  rounded  look.  Inside  the 
ends  of  the  bookcase  holes  about  half  an  inch 
in  diameter  are  bored  about  halfway  through 
the  thickness  of  the  plank,  affording  places  for 
the  pegs  that  hold  the  adjustable  shelves. 

Figure  12  shows  a  small  table  primarily 
chosen  for  use  in  a  bedroom,  to  stand  near  the 
bed  and  hold  a  lamp  or  candle  and  one  or  two 
books,  but  it  is  convenient  in  any  place  where 
a  small  stand  is  needed.  The  top  of  the  back 
is  to  be  doweled  in  place  with  three  half-inch 
dowel  pins  and  the  top  itself  is  fastened  to  the 
sides  by  table  fasteners  placed  under  a  wide 
overhang.  The  drawers  should  be  dovetailed 
together  at  the  corners  and  all  edges  slightly 
softened   by   careful  sandpapering. 

Figure  13.  The  round  table  shown  here  em- 
bodies in  its  construction 
the  same  general  fea- 
tures as  the  large  square 
library  table  shown  in 
Figure  17,  only  modified 
to  such  a  degree  that  the 
effect  is  light  rather  than 
massive.  The  braces,  top 
and  bottom,  are  crossed 
and  the  four  legs  are 
wide  and  flat,  with  open- 
ings following  the  lines 
of  the  outside.  The 
tenons,  which  have  a 
bold  projection  and  are 
fastened  with  wooden 
keys,  are  used  as  a  dis- 
tinctively decorative  fea- 
ture. . 

Figure  14  gives  a  very 
good  idea  of  a  desk 
which  looks  hard  to 
make  but  is  not  so  dif- 
ficult as  might  appear  at 
the  first  glance.  The  lid 
can  be  made  first,  then 
the  sides  and  shelves 
carefully  fitted  and  a 
quarter-inch  iron  pin  in- 
serted between  the  sides  FIGURE  TWENTY.FIVE._ 
and   the   lid    so  that  all    a  hall  clock. 


180 


CABINET   WORK   FOR    HOME    WORKERS 


FIGURE   TWENTY-SIX. 
HIGH  CHAIR. 


-CHILD  S 


are  fastened  together  at 
once.  Then  the  back  is 
put  in  and  is  held  in 
place  by  small  blued 
oval  -  headed 
screws.  After 
this  the  letter 
and  blotter 
rack  may  be 
sprung  into 
place  and,  with 
a  little  button  at 
the  top  under 
which  is  a  leath- 
er washer,  the 
desk  is  complete 
except  for  the 
basket,  which 
should  be  woven 
of  willow  withes 
to  fit  the  shelf. 
Figure  15 
shows  a  simple 
desk  or  writing 
table  for  the  li- 
brary or  living 
room.  The  two  little  upper  drawers 
with  the  letter  file  between  give  a  very 
convenient  arrangement  for  stowing 
away  letters,  writing  paper,  etc.  This 
is  a  piece  which  might  easily  be  made 
crude  and  heavy,  by  just  a  little  awk- 
wardness in  getting  the  right  propor- 
tions and  lack  of  skill  in  the  use  of 
tools;  but  if  carefully  made  and  well 
finished  it  possesses  a  sturdy  attractive- 
ness that  is  very  interesting. 

Figure  16.  This  design  for  a  library 
table  should  not  be  attempted  until  ex- 
perience in  woodwork  has  taught  the 
worker  how  to  use  his  tools  and  ma- 
terials well.  Everything  depends  upon 
care  both  in  construction  and  finishing 
and  especial  attention  should  be  given 
toward  maintaining  in  their  integrity  all 
the  lines  and  proportions,  as  these  de- 
tails have  everything  to  do  with  making 
or  marring  the  design.  The  end  pieces, 
while  massive  in  effect,  are  relieved 
from  over-heaviness  by  the  use  of  slats 
and  the  shaping  of  the  broad  strips  on 
the  outside.  The  top  of  the  table  is 
fastened  firmly  with  table  irons  so  that 
it  is  quite  solid.  Where  the  shelf  tenons 
come  through  the  end  pieces  there  is  a 


projection  of  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  and 
the  edges  are  chamfered  off  to  give  a  smooth 
rounded  effect.  The  tenon  itself  should  be 
wedged  and  glued  so  that  it  cannot  be  pulled 
out.  The  dovetailing  on  the  drawer  may  need 
a  little  practice  before  it  is  successfully 
executed,  but  if  it  is  well  done  it  will  be  a 
satisfactory  evidence  of  the  cleverness  of  the 
worker. 

Figure  17  shows  a  large  library  table  that 
is  practically  a  companion  piece  to  the  round 
table  illustrated  in  Figure  13.  In  this  case, 
however,  the  natural  massiveness  of  the  con- 
struction is  emphasized  rather  than  modified, 
although  the  severity  of  the  solid  ends  is  soft- 
ened by  the  curved  lines  and  open  spaces 
which  serve  to  take  away  all  appearance  of 
clumsiness.  The  projecting  tenons  and  keys 
form  a  suitable  structural  decoration  and  add 
to  the  strength  of  the  piece.  A  strong  brace 
just  beneath  the  top  keeps  the  ends  firm  while 
the  lower  shelf  acts  as  another  brace. 

Figure  18.  The  lines  and  proportions  of 
this  small  sideboard  make  it  an  unusually  satis- 
fying piece  for  the  home  worker  to  try  his 
skill  on  because,  if  it  is  well  made,  it  is  a  piece 


FIGURE   TWENTY-SEVEN. — PORTABLE    SCREEN. 


181 


CABINET  WORK  FOR   HOME   WORKERS 


FIGURE  TWENTY-EIGHT.  - 
BENCH   WITH    SLAB   TOP 


of  furniture  that  would  add 
much  to  the  beauty  of  a 
dining  room.  The  construction,  though  on  a 
larger  scale  and  in  some  ways  more  compli- 
cated than  in  any  of  the  preceding  pieces,  is 
no  more  difficult  and  no  trouble  will  be  found 
in  putting  it  together.  The  back  is  to  be 
screwed  into  place  and  is  put  on  last.  The  top 
can  be  doweled  on  or  fastened  with  table  irons. 
The  latter  will  be  safer  if  there  is  any  doubt 
as  to  the  thorough  seasoning  of  the  wood,  as 
the  irons  will  admit  of  a  slight  shrinkage  or 
swelling  without  cracking  the  wood.  All  the 
edges  should  be  slightly  softened  with  sand- 
paper just  before  the  finish  is  applied. 

Figure  19.  This  plate  rack  is  meant  to  be 
hung  by  chains,  cords,  or  heavy  picture  wire 
just  above  the  sideboard,  although  it  also 
serves  as  a  stein  rack  for  a  den.  The  con- 
struction speaks  for  itself  and  is  so  simple 
that  nothing  need  be  said  about  it  except  that 
the  brackets  are  fastened  with  screws  from  the 
back.  If  chains 
are  used  to  hang 
it  from  the  rail 
above,  it  would 
be  better  to  have 
fairly  heavy.  Plain  round 
link  chains  can  be 
bought  ready  made,  to- 
gether with  the  hooks, 
or  they  can  be  made  to 
order  by  any  blacksmith. 

Figure  20  shows  a 
combination  table  and 
encyclopedia  bookcase 
designed  especially  for 
the  student  who  wishes 
to    have    his    reference 


books  near  at  hand.  It 
is  meant  to  hold  a  com- 
plete set  of  books,  with 
additional  space  for  a 
dictionary.  The  plans 
are  so  simple  that  they 
can  be  understood  and 
applied  by  a  beginner  in 
cabinetwork  and  the  use- 
fulness of  the  piece  is 
such  as  to  make  it  one 
of  the  most  interesting 
models  we  have  ever  de- 
signed for  the  use  of  home  workers. 

Figures  21  and  22  show  two  most  conveni- 
ent little  pieces  for  a  library  table.  The  first 
is  a  small  letter  file  with  four  compartments 
for  note  paper,  envelopes  and  letters,  making 
it  very  useful  for  the  home  bookkeeper.  The 
second  is  a  small  revolving  book  rack,  made 
in  the  form  of  a  swastika,  which  revolves  upon 
a  flat  round  stand  that  raises  it  about  an  inch 
from  the  table.  It  is  meant  to  hold  small 
books  that  are  needed  for  constant  reference. 
Both  these  pieces  show  to  the  best  advantage 
the  decorative  use  of  the  dovetail  as  a  joint 
This  bit  of  structural  decoration  is  a  favorite 
with  us  because  we  consider  the  hand-made 
dovetail  to  be  one  of  the  most  interesting 
structural  features  used  in  joinery,  as  well  as 
the  strongest  joint.  This,  of  course,  applies 
only  to  pieces  where  the  strength  of  the  struc- 
ture depends  upon  the  strength  of  the  corner, 
for  it  is  purely  a  corner  joint.  For  example, 
in  the  case  of  this  little  book-rack  the  use  of 
the  dovetail  is  almost  inevitable,  for  without  it 
the  corners  would  not  only  be  less  perfectly 


FIGURE      TWENTY-NINE.— RUSTIC    TABLE    THAT    CAN   BE  TAKEN  APART  AT  WILL. 


182 


CABINET  WORK  FOR  HOME  WORKERS 


FIGURE  THIRTY. RUSTIC   SWING   SEAT. 


joined  as  regards  strength,  but  the  piece  would 
lose  its  greatest  claim  to  structural  interest. 

Figure  23  shows  a  combination  bookcase 
and  cupboard  with  an  open  shelf  in  the  middle 
for  such  books  as  are  most  used.  The  sides 
have  small-paned  glass  doors  and  are  shelved 
for  books;  the  central  cupboard  with  the 
wooden  doors  is  meant  to  hold  papers,  maga- 
zines and  the  like. 

Figures  24  and  25  show  two  hall  clocks,  of 
the  type  usually  known  as  the  "grandfather's 
clock."  Given  a  moderate  skill  in  the  handling 
of  tools,  the  home  worker  can  easily  make  a 
clock  that  will  prove  a  quaint  and  satisfactory 


FIGURE  THTJtTY-ONE. — RUSTIC  BED  FOR  LOG  CABIN  OR   MOUNTAIN  CAMP. 

183 


bit  of  furnishing  and  will  have  all  the  charm 
of  an  individual  piece  of  handicraft  made  for 
the  place  it  is  to  fill.  Oak  is  the  most  appro- 
priate wood  for  the  cases  of  both  these  clocks, 
and  the  construction  is  very  simple.  The  face 
may  be  made  of  wood  with  the  figures  burned 
in,  or  of  a  twelve-inch  plate  of  brass  with 
figures  of  copper.  If  the  latter  is  used,  holes 
should  be  drilled  in  the  plate  to  receive  the 
pins  which  rivet  on  the  figures.  These  pins 
are  simply  bent  over  after  the  figures  are  in 
place.  In  both  cases  the  door  at  the  back 
should  have  a  silk  panel  in  it  so  that  the  sound 
may  easily  pass  through. 

Figure   26   shows   a  child's   high-chair   de- 
signed   in    the    typical    Craftsman    style.     In 
building    this    chair    put    everything    together 
except  the  arms  and   when  the  glue  is  dry 
the   arm    dowels    are 
^•v  fitted    and    the    back 
'#  ones    shoved    into 
place.    Then  by  pres- 
sure   the    front    will 
spring  into  its  proper 
position.      All    the 
dowels  should  be  well 
glued.      Care    should 
be  used   in  the   join- 
ing of  the   seat  rails 
and  it  should  also  be 
noted     that    three- 
eighths  of  an  inch  is 
cut  from  the  bottom 
of  the  back  post  after 
the  chair  is   put  to- 


CABINET   WORK   FOR   HOME   WORKERS 


FIGURE    THIRTY-TWO.- 
RUSTIC  CHAIR. 


gether.  This  makes  a  little  slant  back  to  the 
seat  and  gives  a  comfortable  position  to  the 
sitter.  The  back  slats  of  the  chair  are  slightly 
curved — a  thing  that  can  be  done  by  thorough- 
ly wetting  or  steaming  the  wood  and 
pressing  it  into  shape  and  then  allowing 
it  to  dry.  The  arms  of  the  adjustable  tray 
are  cut  from  a  single  piece  of  wood  and 
the  back  ends  are  splined  by  sawing  straight  in 
to  a  point  beyond  the  curve  and  inserting  in 
the  opening  made  by  the  saw  a  piece  of  wood 
cut  with  the  grain  and  well  glued.  This  device 
gives  strength  to  a  point  that  otherwise  would 
be  very  weak. 

Figure  27  shows  a  screen  which  is  very 
easy  to  make,  yet  most  decorative,  owing  to  the 
proportion  of 
the  leaves,  the 
curving  of  the 
top  and  the  use 
of  keys  to  hold 
together  the 
broad  V-joint- 
ed  boards  of 
the  lower  part. 
The  upper  part 
may  be  of  silk, 
leather,  or  any 
material  that  is 
preferred. 

Figures  2  S 
and  29  show  a 
rustic  bench 
and      table 


meant'  for  a  log  cabin  or  mountain  camp. 
The  legs  cf  the  bench  are  made  of  small 
logs  which  are  hewn  or  planed  at  four  an- 
gles, leaving  the  round  surface  and  the  wane, 
so  that  the  piece  has  in  it  some  of  the  irregu- 
larity of  the  trunk  of  the  growing  tree.  The 
top  of  the  bench  is  made  of  a  split  log  planed 
only  at  the  upper  side,  the  under  side  being 
stripped  of  its  bark  and  left  in  the  natural 
shape.  The  horses  for  the  table  are  made  in 
the  same  way  as  the  legs  of  the  bench.  The 
table  top  is  in  two  pieces,  the  wide  thick  planks 
of  which  it  is  made  being  finished  as  carefully 
as  for  any  well-made  table.  These  table 
boards  are  locked  together  underneath  so  that 
there  is  no  danger  of  their  parting  when  in 
use  and  they  can  easily  be  taken  apart  when 
it  is  necessary  to  move  or  set  aside  the  table. 
The  great  convenience  of  this  table  is  that  it 
can  be  taken  to  pieces  and  used  anywhere,  in- 
doors or  out. 

Figures  30,  31,  32  and  33  show  some  sub- 
stantial pieces  of  rustic  furniture  designed  for 
country  or  camp  life  or  for  outdoor  use.  The 
first  is  a  swinging  seat  for  the  veranda  or 
lawn ;  the  second,  a  bedstead  for  use  in  a  log 
cabin  or  camp;  the  third  is  a  rustic  chair  and 
the  fourth  a  rustic  couch  for  outdoor  use.  The 
value  of  this  rustic  furniture  is  not  wholly 
that  it  is  durable  and  capable  of  weathering 
sun  and  rain  alike,  but  that  it  makes  a  special 
appeal  to  the  amateur  carpenter,  as  its  rough 
exterior  hides  defects  in  joining  and  there  is 
not  the  special  need  of  well  seasoned  and  care- 
fully prepared  lumber  that  is  so  essential  to 
the  success  of  the  finer  pieces. 


FIGURE  THIRTY-THREE. — COUCH   FOR  VERANDA  OR  LAWN. 


m 


OUR    NATIVE    WOODS    AND    THE    CRAFTSMAN 
METHOD    OF    FINISHING   THEM 


SO  much  of  the  success  of  the  whole 
Craftsman  scheme  of  building  and  deco- 
ration depends  upon  the  right  selection 
and  treatment  of  the  woodwork,  which 
forms  such  an  important  part  of  the  structural 
and  also  of  the  decorative  scheme,  that  we 
have  considered  it  worth  while  to  devote  an 
entire  chapter  to  such  information  and  instruc- 
tion as  we  are  able  to  give  concerning  some  of 
our  native  woods  that  we  consider  most  desir- 
able for  this  purpose.  We  are  taking  up  only 
the  woods  that  are  native  to  this  country,  for 
the  reason  that  they  are  nearest  at  hand  and 
because,  when  finished  by  our  method,  they 
reveal  the  beauty  of  color  and  grain  that  forms 
the  basis  of  the  whole  Craftsman  idea  of 
interior  decoration.  These  vary  widely,  as 
each  wood  possesses  strongly  marked  charac- 
teristics as  to  color,  texture  and  grain  ;  but  all 
the  woods  we  mention  here  are  desirable  for 
interior  trim  and  the  use  of  them  is  much  more 
in  accordance  with  the  Craftsman  scheme  of 
decoration  than  are  the  elaborate  and  more  or 
less  exotic  effects  obtained  by  the  use  of 
expensive  foreign  woods.  This  does  not  mean 
that  we  claim  greater  beauty  for  the  native 
woods,  but  merely  that,  when  properly  treated, 
they  are  quite  as  interesting  as  any  of  the  more 
costly  woods  imported  from  other  countries 
and  have  the  great  advantage  of  being  easily 
obtainable  at  moderate  cost. 

We  need  not  dwell  upon  the  importance  of 
using  a  generous  amount  of  woodwork  to  give 
an  effect  of  permanence,  homelikeness  and 
rich  warm  color  in  a  room.  Anyone  who  has 
ever  entered  a  house  in  which  the  friendly 
natural  wood  is  used  in  the  form  of  wainscot- 
ing, beams  and  structural  features  of  all  kinds, 
has  only  to  contrast  the  impression  given  by 
such  an  interior  with  that  which  we  receive 
when  we  go  into  the  average  house,  where  the 
plain  walls  are  covered  with  plaster  and  paper 
and  the  conventional  door  and  window  frames 
are  of  painted  or  varnished  wood,  in  order  to 
realize  the  difference  made  by  giving  to  the 
woodwork  its  full  value  in  the  decorative 
scheme.  No  care  bestowed  on  decoration,  or 
expense  lavished  on  draperies  or  furniture, 
can  make  up  for  the  absence  of  wood  in  the 
interior  of  a  house.  This  is  a  truth  that  has 
long  been  understood  and  applied  in  the  older 
countries,  especially  in  England,  whose  mellow 
friendly  old  houses  are  the  delight  and  despair 
of  Americans ;  but  it  is  only  a  few  years  since 


we  began  to  apply  it  to  the  building  and  fur- 
nishing of  our  own  homes.  With  us  the  reali- 
zation of  the  possibilities  of  natural  wood 
when  used  as  a  basis  for  interior  decoration 
first  took  root  in  the  West,  particularly  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  where  the  delightful  atmosphere 
of  rooms  that  were  wainscoted,  ceiled  and 
beamed  with  California  redwood  gave  rise  to 
a  new  departure  in  the  finishing  and  decora- 
tion of  our  homes,  and  stirred  the  East  to 
follow  suit. 

In  recommending  the  generous  use  of  wood- 
work, however,  we  would  have  it  clearly 
understood  that  we  mean  the  use  of  wood  so 
finished  that  its  individual  qualities  of  grain, 
texture  and  color  are  preserved  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, and  such  treatment  of  wall  spaces  and 
structural  features  that  they  are  not  made 
unduly  prominent,  but  rather  sink  quietly  into 
the  background  and  become  a  part  of  the  room 
itself,  forming  a  friendly  unobtrusive  setting 
for  the  furniture,  draperies  and  ornaments, 
instead  of  coming  into  competition  with  them. 
To  this  end  the  woodwork  should  be  so 
finished  that  its  inherent  color  quality  is  deep- 
ened and  mellowed  as  if  by  time  and  its  sur- 
face made  pleasantly  smooth  without  sacri- 
ficing the  woody  quality  that  comes  from 
frankly  revealing  its  natural  texture.  When 
this  is  done,  the  little  sparkling  irregularity  of 
the  grain  allows  a  play  of  light  over  the  sur- 
face that  seems  to  give  it  almost  a  soft  radi- 
ance,— a  quality  that  we  lose  entirely  in  wood- 
work that  is  filled,  stained  to  a  solid  color, 
varnished  and  polished  so  that  the  light  is 
reflected  from  a  hard  unsympathetic  surface. 

It  is  interesting  also  to  note  how  much  the 
character  of  a  room  depends  upon  the  kind  of 
wood  we  use  in  it.  For  example,  the  impres- 
sion given  by  oak  is  strong,  austere  and  dig- 
nified, suggesting  stability  and  permanence 
such  as  would  naturally  belong  to  a  house 
built  to  last  for  generations.  It  is  a  robust, 
manly  sort  of  wood  and  is  most  at  home  in 
large  rooms  which  are  meant  for  constant  use, 
such  as  the  living  room,  reception  hall,  library 
or  dining  room.  Chestnut,  ash  and  elm, — 
although  each  one  has  an  individual  quality 
of  color  and  grain  that  differentiates  it  from 
all  the  others, — all  come  into  the  same  class 
as  oak,  in  that  they  are  strong-fibered,  open- 
textured  woods  that  find  their  best  use  in  the 
rooms  in  which  the  general. life  of  the  house- 
hold is  carried  on.    The  finer-textured  woods, 


185 


WOODS  AND   HOW  WE   FINISH  THEM 


such  as  maple,  beech,  birch  and  gumwood,  are 
more  suitable  for  the  woodwork  in  smaller  and 
more  daintily  furnished  rooms  that  are  not 
so  roughly  used,  such  as  bedrooms  or  small 
private  sitting  rooms.  Aside  from  this  general 
classification,  the  choice  of  wood  for  interior 
woodwork  naturally  must  depend  upon  the 
taste  of  the  home-builder,  the  requirements  of 
the  decorative  scheme  planned  for  the  house 
as  a  whole,  and  the  ease  with  which  a  par- 
ticular kind  of  wood  may  be  obtained. 

In  considering  the  relative  value  of  our 
native  woods  for  interior  woodwork,  we  are 
inclined  to  give  first  place  to  the  American 
white  oak,  which  possesses  not  only  strength 
of  fiber  and  beauty  of  color  and  markings,  but 
great  durability,  as  its  sturdiness  and  the  hard- 
ness of  its  texture  enables  it  to  withstand 
almost  any  amount  of  wear.  In  this  respect 
it  is  far  superior  to  the  other  woods,  such  as 
chestnut,  ash  and  elm,  which  we  have  men- 
tioned as  being  in  the  same  general  class  of 
open-textured,  strong-fibered  woods  ;  although 
these,  under  the  right  treatment,  possess  a 
color  quality  finer  than  that  of  oak,  in  that 
they  show  a  greater  degree  of  that  mellow 
radiance  which  counts  so  much  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  a  room.  This  is  especially  true  of 
chestnut,  which  is  so  rich  in  color  that  it  fairly 
glows.  But  in  addition  to  its  dignity  and  dura- 
bility, there  is  something  about  oak  that  stirs 
the  imagination.  Not  only  is  it  suggestive  of 
the  rich  somber  time-mellowed  rooms  of  old 
English  houses  which  have  seen  generation 
after  generation  live  and  die  in  them,  but  it  is 
the  wood  we  are  accustomed  to  associate  with 
nearly  all  the  magnificent  carved  work  of 
earlier  days.  In  fact,  oak  has  come  to  stand 
as  a  symbol  of  strength  and  permanence,  and 
a  great  part  of  our  affection  for  it  comes  from 
the  romance  and  the  rare  old  associations  with 
which  its  very  name  is  surrounded. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  oak  in  this 
country,  but  of  these  the  white  oak  is  by  far 
the  most  desirable,  both  for  cabinetmaking  and 
for  interior  woodwork.  One  reason  for  this 
is  the  deep,  ripened  color  it  takes  on  under 
the  process  we  use  for  finishing  it, — a  process 
which  gives  the  appearance  of  age  and  mellow- 
ness without  in  any  way  altering  the  character 
of  the  wood.  We  refer  to  the  fuming  with 
ammonia,  which  we  have  already  described  in 
the  preceding  chapter.  The  fact  that  ammonia 
fumes  will  darken  new  oak  was  discovered  by 
accident.    Some  oak  boards  stored  in  a  stable 


in  England  were  found  after  a  time  to  have 
taken  on  a  beautiful  mellow  brown  tone  and 
on  investigation  this  change  in  color  was  dis- 
covered to  be  due  to  the  ammonia  fumes  that 
naturally  are  present  in  stables.  This  ripen- 
ing, so  essential  to  the  beauty  of  oak  wood- 
work, takes  a  long  time  when  left  to  the  un- 
aided action  of  air  and  sunlight,  and  the  fact 
that  the  wood  darkened  very  quickly  when  it 
was  stored  in  a  stable  led  to  experimenting 
with  the  effect  of  ammonia  fumes  upon  various 
kinds  of  oak.  The  reason  for  this  effect  was 
at  first  unknown  and,  to  the  best  of  our  belief, 
it  was  not  discovered  until  the  experiments 
with  fuming  made  in  The  Craftsman  Work- 
shops established  the  fact  that  the  darkening 
of  the  wood  was  due  to  the  chemical  affinity 
existing  between  ammonia  and  tannic  acid,  of 
which  there  is  a  large  percentage  present  in 
white  oak.  This  being  established,  prepara- 
tions were  at  once  made  for  using  ammonia 
fumes  in  a  practical  way,  which  we  have 
already  described  in  a  preceding  chapter.  The 
process  mentioned  there,  however,  is  prac- 
ticable only  when  furniture  is  to  be  fumed, 
as  it  is  quite  possible  to  construct  an  air-tight 
compartment  sufficiently  large  to  hold  one  or 
more  pieces  of  furniture,  but  when  it  comes 
to  fuming  the  woodwork  of  a  whole  room 
it  is  not  so  easy.  The  fuming  boxes  we  use 
in  The  Craftsman  Workshops  are  made  of 
tarred  canvas  stretched  tightly  over  large  light 
wooden  frames  which  are  padded  heavily 
around  the  bottom  so  that  no  air  can  creep  in 
between  the  box  and  the  floor.  The  box  is 
drawn  to  the  ceiling  by  means  of  a  rope  and 
pulley;  the  furniture  is  piled  directly  below 
and  shallow  dishes  are  set  around  the  edges 
inside  the  line  that  marks  the  limits  of  the  com- 
partment. The  box  is  then  lowered  almost  to 
the  floor;  very  strong  aqua  ammonia  (26  per 
cent.)  is  quickly  poured  into  the  dishes  and 
the  box  dropped  at  once  to  the  floor.  The 
strength  of  the  ammonia  used  for  this  pur- 
pose may  be  appreciated  when  one  remembers 
that  the  ordinary  ammonia  retailed  for  house- 
hold use  is  about  5  per  cent. 

Of  course,  for  fuming  interior  woodwork, 
the  air-tight  compartment  is  hardly  practi- 
cable ;  but  a  fairly  good  substitute  for  it  may 
be  obtained  by  shutting  up  the  room  in  which 
the  woodwork  is  to  be  fumed,  stuffing  up  all 
the  crevices  as  if  for  fumigating  with  sulphur 
and  then  setting  around  on  the  floor  a  liberal 
number  of  dishes  into  which  the  ammonia  is 


186 


THE   CRAFTSMAN   IDEA 

of  the  whole  people,  and  when  their  day  is  over  they  will  be  forgotten  as  com- 
pletely as  if  they  had  never  existed.  Psychologists  talk  learnedly  of  "Ameri- 
canitis"  as  being  almost  a  national  malady,  so  widespread  is  our  restlessness 
and  feverish  activity;  but  it  is  safe  to  predict  that,  with  the  growing  taste  for 
wholesome  country  life,  it  will  not  be  more  than  a  generation  or  two  before  our 
far-famed  nervous  tension  is  referred  to  with  wonder  as  an  evidence  of  past 
ignorance  concerning  the  most  important  things  of  life. 

And  when  we  have  turned  once  more  to  natural  living  instead  of  setting  up 
our  puny  affairs  and  feverish  ambitions  to  oppose  the  quiet,  irresistible  course 
of  Nature's  law,  we  will  not  need  to  turn  hungrily  to  books  for  stories  of  a  by- 
gone Golden  Age,  nor  will  we  need  to  deplore  the  vanishing  of  art  and  beauty 
from  our  lives,  for  when  the  day  comes  that  we  have  sufficient  courage  and  per- 
ception to  throw  aside  the  innumerable  petty  superfluities  that  hamper  us  now 
at  every  turn  and  the  honesty  to  realize  what  Nature  holds  for  all  who  turn  to 
her  with  a  reverent  spirit  and  an  open  mind,  we  will  find  that  art  is  once  more  a 
part  of  our  daily  life  and  that  the  impulse  to  do  beautiful  and  vital  creative  work 
is  as  natural  as  the  impulse  to  breathe. 

Therefore  it  is  not  idle  theorizing  to  prophesy  that,  when  healthful  and  natural 
conditions  are  restored  to  our  lives,  handicrafts  will  once  more  become  a  part 
of  them,  because  two  powerful  influences  will  be  working  in  this  direction  as  they 
have  worked  ever  since  the  earliest  dawn  of  civilization.  One  is  the  imperative 
need  for  self-expression  in  some  form  of  creative  work  that  always  comes  when 
the  conditions  of  life  are  such  as  to  allow  full  development  and  joyous  vigor  of 
body  and  mind.  The  other  is  that  which  closer  relationship  with  Nature  seems 
to  bring;  a  craving  for  greater  intimacy  with  the  things  we  own  and  use.  Ma- 
chine-made standards  fall  away  of  themselves  as  we  get  away  from  artificial 
conditions.  It  is  as  if  wholesome  living  brought  with  it  not  only  quickened  per- 
ceptions but  also  a  sense  of  personal  affection  for  all  the  familiar  surroundings 
of  our  daily  life.  It  is  from  such  feeling  that  we  get  the  treasured  heirlooms 
which  are  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation  because  of  their  associa- 
tions and  what  they  represent. 

Naturally  the  primitive  conditions  of  pioneer  life  in  any  nation  include  handi- 
crafts as  a  matter  of  course,  from  the  simple  fact  that  people  had  to  make  for 
themselves  what  they  needed  or  go  without.  We  realize  that  in  this  age  of  in- 
vention and  of  labor-saving  machinery  it  is  neither  possible  nor  desirable  to  re- 
turn to  such  conditions,  but  we  believe  that  it  is  quite  possible  for  a  higher  form 
of  handicrafts  to  exist  under  the  most  advanced  modern  conditions  and  that 
achievements  as  great  as  those  of  the  old  craftsmen  who  made  famous  the  Me- 
diaeval guilds  are  by  no  means  out  of  the  reach  of  modern  workers  when  they 
once  realize  the  possibilities  that  lie  in  this  direction.  Our  theory  is  that  modern 
improvements  and  conveniences  afford  a  most  welcome  and  necessary  relief 
from  the  routine  drudgery  of  household  and  farm  work  by  disposing  quickly 
and  easily  of  what  might  much  better  be  done  by  machinery  than  by  hand,  and 
that  therefore  there  should  be  sufficient  leisure  left  for  the  enjoyment  of  life  and 
for  the  doing  of  work  that  is  really  worth  while,  which  are  among  the  things  most 
essential  to  all-round  mental  and  moral  development.  Almost  the  greatest 
drawback  to  farm  life  as  it  is  today  is  the  lack  of  interest  and  of  mental  alertness. 

199 


THE   CRAFTSMAN  IDEA 

Especially  is  this  the  case  during  the  winter  months,  when  work  on  the  farm 
is  slack  and  much  time  is  left  to  be  spent  in  idleness  or  in  some  trifling  occupation. 
Consider  what  the  effect  would  be  if  it  were  made  possible  at  such  times  to  take 
up  some  form  of  creative  work  that  would  not  only  bring  into  play  every  atom 
of  interest  and  ability,  but  would  also  serve  a  practical  purpose  by  adding  con- 
siderably to  the  family  income! 

WE  HAVE  given  a  great  deal  of  consideration  to  the  practical  side  of  such 
a  combination  of  handicrafts  and  farming,  and  we  realize  of  course  that 
the  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  making  such  a  thing  possible  by  making 
it  profitable  is  the  question  of  obtaining  a  steady  market  for  the  products  of  such 
crafts  as  might  be  practiced  in  connection  with  country  life.  It  is  often  urged 
as  an  argument  against  handicrafts  that  hand-made  goods  could  not  possibly 
compete  with  factory-made  goods,  and  that  it  would  be  absurd  for  people  to 
waste  time  in  making  things  for  which  there  would  be  no  sale.  This  does  not 
seem  to  us  to  be  the  case,  for  the  reason  that  there  is  no  competition  between  the 
products  of  handicrafts  and  factory-made  goods,  because  they  are  not  measured 
by  the  same  standard  of  value  nor  do  they  appeal  to  the  same  class  of  consumer. 
Hand-made  articles  have  a  certain  intrinsic  value  of  their  own  that  sets  them 
entirely  apart  from  machine-made  goods.  This  value  depends,  not  upon  the 
fact  that  the  article  is  made  entirely  by  hand  or  with  appropriate  tools, — that 
is  not  the  point, — but  upon  the  skill  of  the  workman,  his  power  to  appreciate 
his  own  work  sufficiently  to  give  it  the  quality  that  appeals  to  the  cultivated 
taste  and  the  care  that  he  gives  to  every  detail  of  workmanship,  from  the  prep- 
aration of  the  raw  material  to  the  final  finish  of  the  piece.  We  are  not  urging 
that  handicrafts  be  cultivated  in  connection  with  farming  for  the  purpose  of 
competing  with  the  factories  for  the  same  class  of  trade,  for,  with  the  demand 
that  necessitates  the  immense  production  of  goods  of  all  kinds,  the  labor-saving 
machinery  and  efficient  methods  of  the  factories  are  absolutely  essential,  just 
as  they  are  essential  in  the  general  economic  scheme  because  they  furnish  em- 
ployment to  thousands  of  workers  who  ask  nothing  better  than  to  be  allowed  to 
tend  a  machine  with  a  certainty  of  so  much  a  day  coming  to  them  at  the  end  of 
the  week.  The  place  of  home  and  village  industries  on  the  economic  side,  is  to 
supplement  the  factories  by  producing  a  grade  of  goods  which  it  is  impossible 
to  duplicate  by  machinery, — and  which  command  a  ready  market  when  they 
can  be  found, — and  to  give  to  the  better  class  of  workers  a  chance  not  only  to 
develop  what  individual  ability  they  may  possess,  but  to  reap  the  direct  reward 
of  their  own  energy  and  industry  in  the  feeling  that  they  are  free  of  the  wage 
system  with  all  its  uncertainties  and  that  what  they  make  goes  to  maintain  a 
home  that  is  their  own,  to  educate  their  children  and  to  lay  up  a  sufficient  pro- 
vision against  old  age. 

We  do  not  deny  that  handicrafts,  as  practiced  by  individual  arts  and  crafts 
workers  in  studios,  fall  very  short  of  affording  a  sufficient  living  to  craft  workers 
as  a  class,  and  also  we  do  not  deny  that  small  farming  as  carried  on  in  our  thinly 
populated  districts  is  neither  interesting,  pleasant,  nor  profitable.  But  we  do 
assert  that  it  is  possible  to  connect  the  two  and  to  carry  them  on  upon  a  basis 
that  will  insure  not  only  peace  and  comfort  in  living,  and  a  form  of  industry 

200 


WOODS  AND   HOW   WE  FINISH  THEM 


poured  last  of  all.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
say  that  the  person  to  whom  the  pouring  of 
the  ammonia  is  entrusted  will  get  out  of  the 
room  as  quickly  as  possible  after  the  fumes 
are  released. 

Another  way  of  treating  oak  with  ammonia 
is  to  brush  the  liquid  directly  on  the  wood,  but 
owing  to  the  strength  of  the  fumes  this  is  not 
a  very  comfortable  process  for  the  worker 
and  it  is  rather  less  satisfactory  in  its  results. 
The  ammonia  being  in  the  nature  of  water,  it 
naturally  raises  the  grain  of  the  wood.  There- 
fore, after  the  application,  it  should  be  allowed 
to  dry  over  night  and  the  grain  carefully  sand- 
papered down  the  next  day.  As  this  is  apt  to 
leave  the  color  somewhat  uneven,  the  wood 
should  again  be  brushed  over  with  the  am- 
monia and  sandpapered  a  second  time  after  it 
is  thoroughly  dry.  This  method  of  getting  rid 
of  the  grain  is  by  no  means  undesirable,  for 
the  wood  has  a  much  more  beautiful  surface 
after  all  the  loose  grain  has  been  raised  and 
then  sandpapered  off.  Where  paint  or  varnish 
is  used  there  is  no  necessity  for  getting  rid  of 
the  grain,  as  it  is  held  down  by  them.  But 
with  our  finish,  which  leaves  the  wood  very 
nearly  in  its  natural  state,  it  is  best  to  dispose 
of  the  loose  grain  once  for  all  and  obtain  a 
natural  surface  that  will  remain  permanently 
smooth. 

We  find  the  finest  white  oak  in  the  Middle 
West  and  Southwest,  especially  in  Indiana, 
which  has  furnished  large  quantities  of  the 
best  grade  of  this  valuable  wood.  Like  so 
many  of  our  natural  resources,  the  once  bounti- 
ful supply  of  our  white  oak  has  been  so 
depleted  by  reckless  use  that  it  is  probable 
that  ten  or  fifteen  years  more  will  see  the  end 
of  quartered  oak,  and  possibly  of  the  best 
grades  of  plain-sawn  oak  as  well.  The  popu- 
larity of  quarter-sawn  oak, — a  very  wasteful 
process  of  manufacture, — is  one  of  the  causes 
of  the  rapid  depletion  of  our  oak  forests.  We 
append  a  small  cut  showing  the  cross-section 
of  a  tree  trunk  marked  with  the  lines  made 
by  quarter-sawing.  As  will  be  seen,  the  trunk 
is  first  cut  into  quarters  and  then  each  quarter 
is  sawn  diagonally  from  the  outside  to  the 
center,  naturally  making  the  boards  narrower 
and  increasing  the  waste.  There  is  some  hope 
to  be  derived  from  the  fact  that  great  stretches 
of  oak  timberland  are  now  being  reforested 
by  the  Government,  but  at  best  it  will  be  a 
generation  or  two  before  these  slow-growing 
trees   are   large  enough  to   furnish  the  best 


quality  of  lumber.  There  is  no  question  as  to 
the  greater  durability  of  quarter-sawn  oak  for 
uses  which  demand  hard  wear  and  also  where 
the  finer  effects  are  desired,  as  in  furniture, 
but  for  interior  woodwork  plain-sawn  oak  is 
not  only  much  less  expensive  than  quarter- 
sawn  but  is  quite  as  desirable  in  every  way. 
The  markings  are  stronger  and  more  interest- 
ing, the  difference  between  the  hard  and  soft 
parts  of  the  grain  is  better  defined,  and  the 
openness  of  texture  gives  the  wood  a  mellower 
color  quality  than  it  has  when  quarter-sawn. 
The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  quarter- 
sawn  oak  is  the  presence  of  the  glassy  rays, — 
technically  called  medullary  rays, — which  bind 
the  perpendicular  fibers  together  and  give  the 
oak  tree  its  amazing  strength.  In  quarter- 
sawing,  the  cut   is   made  parallel   with   these 


Croas-seclion  of  tree-trunk,  showing  method  of  quarter-aawins 

medullary  rays  instead  of  across  them,  as  is 
done  in  straight  sawing,  so  that  they  show 
prominently,  forming  the  peculiar  wavy  lines 
that  distinguish  quarter-sawn  oak.  The  pres- 
ervation of  the  binding  properties  of  these 
rays  gives  remarkable  structural  strength  to 
the  wood,  which  is  much  less  liable  to  crack, 
check  or  warp  than  when  it  is  plain-sawn. 
This,  of  course,  makes  a  difference  when  it 
comes  to  making  large  panels,  table  tops,  or 
anything  else  that  shows  a  large  plain  surface, 
and  for  these  uses  quarter-sawn  oak  is  pref- 
erable merely  because  it  "stands"  better.  But 
for  the  woodwork  of  a  room,  we  much  prefer 
the  plain-sawn  oak  on  account  of  its  friendli- 
ness and  the  delightful  play  of  light  and  shade 
that  is  given  by  the  boldness  and  color  varia- 
tion of  the  grain.  When  quarter-sawn  oak  is 
used  for  large  stretches  of  woodwork,  the 
effect  is  duller  and  more  austere  because  the 


187 


WOODS  AND   HOW   WE   FINISH   THEM 


color  of  the  wood  is  colder  and  more  uniform 
and  it  shows  a  much  harder  and  closer  texture. 

In  the  final  finishing  of  oak  woodwork,  the 
method  that  we  find  most  practicable  differs 
somewhat  from  that  described  in  the  direc- 
tions we  have  already  given  for  finishing  fur- 
niture. As  the  woodwork  in  a  room  is  not 
called  upon  to  stand  the  hard  wear  that  is 
necessarily  given  to  the  furniture,  we  do  not 
need  the  shellac,  and  after  the  right  tone  has 
been  obtained  by  fuming,  the  wood  may  be 
given  several  coats  of  prepared  floor  wax  and 
then  rubbed  until  the  surface  is  satin  smooth. 
If,  however,  a  darker  shade  of  brown  is 
desired,  the  fumed  wood  may  be  given  one  or 
more  coats  of  thin  shellac,  with  a  little  color 
carried  on  in  each  coat,  and  then  finished  with 
wax  after  the  manner  described  in  the  direc- 
tions given  for  finishing  furniture.  This 
method  of  finishing  is  one  that  we  have 
adopted  after  years  of  experimenting  and  it 
has  become  so  identified  with  the  Craftsman 
use  of  oak  that  it  has  been  very  generally 
taken  up  by  other  makers  of  this  style  of  fur- 
niture and  by  decorators  who  advocate  the 
Craftsman  treatment  of  interior  woodwork. 

Next  in  rank  to  oak  for  use  in  large  rooms 
comes  chestnut,  which  is  equally  attractive  in 
fiber  and  markings,  has  a  color  quality  that  is 
even  better,  and  is  plentiful,  easily  obtained 
and  very  reasonable  as  to  cost.  While  it  lacks 
something  of  the  stateliness  and  durability  of 
oak,  chestnut  is  even  more  friendly  because  of 
the  mellowness  and  richness  of  its  color,  which 
under  very  simple  treatment  takes  on  a  lumi- 
nous quality  that  seems  to  fill  the  whole  room 
with  a  soft  glow  like  that  of  the  misty  color 
that  is  radiated  from  trees  in  autumn.  Chest- 
nut takes  even  more  kindly  than  oak  to  the 
fuming  process,  because  it  contains  a  greater 
percentage  of  tannin  and  the  texture  of  the 
wood  itself  is  softer  and  more  open.  But 
unless  a  deep  tone  of  brown  is  desired,  fuming 
may  be  dispensed  with,  because  the  wood  is 
so  much  richer  in  the  elements  from  which 
color  can  be  produced  that  a  delightful  effect 
may  be  obtained  merely  by  applying  a  light 
stain  of  nut  brown  or  soft  gray,  under  which 
the  natural  color  of  the  wood  appears  as  an 
undertone.  The  staining  is  very  easy  to  do, 
but  care  should  be  taken  to  have  only  a  very 
little  color  in  each  coat  because  the  wood  takes 
the  stain  so  readily  that  a  mere  trifle  of  super- 
fluous color  will  give  a  thick  muddy  effect  that 
destroys  the  clear  luminous  quality  which  is 


the  chief  charm.  In  the  case  of  our  Crafts- 
man houses,  we  find  it  easier  to  fume  chestnut 
woodwork  than  to  stain  it,  and  this  process  is 
the  more  to  be  recommended  because  chestnut 
takes  the  fumes  of  ammonia  very  quickly  and 
easily.  Also  because  of  this,  the  ammonia 
should  never  be  brushed  directly  on  the  wood, 
which  is  so  porous  that  the  moisture  is  sure 
to  raise  the  grain  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
amount  of  sanding  required  to  smooth  it  down 
again  destroys  the  natural  surface.  One  great 
advantage  of  chestnut, — aside  from  its  charm 
of  color,  texture  and  markings, — is  that  it  is 
very  easy  to  work,  stays  in  place  readily  and 
is  so  easy  to  dry  that  the  chances  of  getting 
thoroughly  dry  lumber  are  much  greater  than 
they  would  be  if  oak  were  used. 

Next  to  chestnut,  in  our  opinion,  comes 
rock  elm, — a  wood  that  is  fairly  abundant,  not 
expensive,  and  easily  obtainable,  especially  in 
the  East.  Rock  elm  is  not  affected  by  the 
fumes  of  ammonia  and,  so  far  as  our  experi- 
ments go,  we  have  never  been  able  to  obtain 
the  right  color  effect  by  the  use  of  chemicals. 
Therefore,  in  order  to  get  a  good  color,  this 
wood  has  to  be  stained.  The  colors  which  are 
most  in  harmony  with  its  natural  color  are 
brown,  green,  and  gray,  particularly  in  the 
lighter  shades.  The  distinguishing  peculiarity 
of  rock  elm  is  its  jagged  or  feathery  grain. 
Also,  the  difference  in  color  between  the  hard 
and  softs  parts  of  the  wood  is  very  marked, 
giving,  under  the  right  treatment,  a  charming 
variation  of  tone.  If  one  has  the  patience 
to  experiment  with  stains  on  small  pieces  of 
rock  elm,  some  unexpectedly  good  effects  may 
be  obtained.  Care  must  be  taken,  however, 
that  the  stain  is  light  enough  to  show  merely 
as  an  over-tone  that  modifies  the  natural  color 
of  the  wood,  as  the  interplay  of  colors  in  the 
grain  is  hidden  by  too  strong  a  surface  tone. 
Elm  is  excellent  for  interior  woodwork  where 
the  color  effect  desired  is  lighter  than  that 
given  by  either  oak  or  chestnut  and  also  it  is 
hard  enough  to  make  pretty  good  furniture. 
This  last  is  a  decided  advantage,  especially  in 
a  room  containing  many  built-in  pieces  which 
naturally  form  a  part  of  the  woodwork.  In 
the  earlier  days  of  our  experimenting  with 
Craftsman  furniture  we  made  a  good  many 
pieces  of  elm  and  found  them,  on  the  whole, 
very  satisfactory. 

Brown  ash  comes  into  the  same  class  with 
rock  elm,  as  it  is  good  for  furniture  as  well  as 
interior  woodwork.    It  has  a  texture  and  color 


188 


WOODS   AND   HOW   WE   FINISH   THEM 


very  similar  to  elm  and  should  be  treated  in 
the  same  way  with  a  very  light  stain  of  either 
brown,  gray  or  green,  all  of  which  blend  per- 
fectly with  the  color  quality  inherent  in  the 
wood.  Unfortunately,  however,  brown  ash  is 
no  longer  plentiful,  having  been  wasted  in  the 
same  reckless  way  that  we  have  wasted  other 
excellent  woods.  Some  years  ago  it  was  used 
in  immense  quantities  for  making  cheap  furni- 
ture, agricultural  implements  and  the  like,  and 
as  it  was  used  not  only  freely  but  wastefully, 
the  supply  is  today  very  nearly  exhausted. 

In  considering  all  these  woods  in  connection 
with  interior  woodwork,  it  is  well  to  keep  in 
mind  that  each  one  of  them  harmonizes 
admirably  with  all  the  others  while  retaining, 
to  the  full,  its  own  individuality.  Therefore, 
in  finishing  the  rooms  on  the  first  floor  of  a 
house,  it  is  merely  a  matter  of  personal  choice 
is  to  whether  or  not  the  same  wood  should  be 
used  throughout,  or  each  room  finished  in  a 
different  wood.  We  have  often  recommended 
that  one  wood  be  used  because  in  a  Craftsman 
house  there  are  practically  no  divisions  or  par- 
titions between  the  rooms,  and  in  this  case  the 
effect  is  so  much  like  that  of  one  large  room 
with  many  nooks  and  corners  that  it  would 
seem  the  natural  thing  to  use  one  kind  of 
wood  for  the  interior  woodwork  throughout. 
However,  if  a  variation  should  be  desired, — 
and  especially  if  the  separation  between  the 
rooms  were  a  little  more  clearly  defined, — the 
use  in  different  rooms  of  the  different  woods 
we  have  mentioned  would  be  most  interesting, 
as  by  this  means  variety  in  the  woodwork 
could  be  obtained  without  any  loss  of  harmony. 

In  buildings  where  it  seems  desirable  to 
show  in  the  woodwork  the  bold,  strikingly 
artistic  effects  such  as  we  associate  with  Jap- 
anese woods,  we  can  heartily  recommend 
cypress,  which  is  plentiful,  easily  obtained 
and  not  expensive.  For  bungalows,  mountain 
camps,  seaside  cottages,  country  clubs  and  the 
like,  where  strong  and  somewhat  unusual 
effects  are  sought  for,  cypress  will  be  found 
eminently  satisfactory,  as  it  is  strong  and  bril- 
liant as  to  markings  and  possesses  most  inter- 
esting possibilities  in  the  way  of  color.  Cypress 
is  a  soft  wood  belonging  to  the  pine  family 
and  we  get  most  of  it  from  the  cypress  swamps 
in  the  Southern  States.  It  is  very  like  the 
famous  Japanese  cypress,  which  gives  such 
a  wonderful  charm  to  many  of  the  Japanese 
buildings  and  which  is  so  identified  with  the 
Japanese  use  of  woods.    Over  there  they  bury 


it  for  a  time  in  order  to  get  the  color  quality 
that  is  most  desired, — a  soft  gray-brown 
against  which  the  markings  stand  out  strongly 
and  show  varying  tones.  This  method,  how- 
ever, did  not  seem  expedient  in  connection 
with  our  own  use  of  the  wood  and  after  long 
experimenting  we  discovered  that  we  could 
get  much  the  same  effect  by  treating  it  with 
sulphuric  acid. 

This  process  is  very  simple,  as  it  is  merely 
the  application  of  diluted  sulphuric  acid 
directly  to  the  surface  of  the  wood.  The 
commercial  sulphuric  acid  should  be  used 
rather  than  the  chemically  pure,  as  the  first 
is  much  cheaper  and  is  quite  as  good  for  this 
purpose.  Generally  speaking,  the  acid  should 
be  reduced  with  water  in  the  proportion  of 
one  part  of  acid  to  five  parts  of  water,  but 
the  amount  of  dilution  depends  largely  upon 
the  temperature  in  which  the  work  is  done. 
Conditions  are  best  when  the  thermometer 
registers  seventy-five  degrees  or  more.  If  it 
is  above  that,  the  sulphuric  acid  will  stand 
considerably  more  dilution  than  it  will  take  if 
the  air  is  cooler.  Of  course,  in  the  case  of 
interior  woodwork,  it  is  possible  to  keep  the 
room  at  exactly  the  right  temperature  by 
means  of  artificial  heat,  but  when  exterior 
woodwork  or  shingles  are  given  the  sulphuric 
acid  treatment,  it  is  most  important  to  take 
into  consideration  the  temperature  and  state  of 
the  weather.  Exposure  to  the  direct  rays  of 
the  sun  darkens  the  wood  so  swiftly  that  a 
much  weaker  solution  is  required  than  when 
the  work  is  done  in  the  shade.  In  any  case, 
it  is  best  to  do  a  good  deal  of  experimenting 
upon  small  pieces  of  wood  before  attempting 
to  put  the  acid  on  the  woodwork  itself,  as  it 
is  only  by  this  means  that  the  exact  degree  of 
strength  required  to  produce  the  best  effect 
can  be  determined.  After  the  application  of 
the  acid  the  wood  should  be  allowed  to  dry 
perfectly  before  putting  on  the  final  finish. 
For  interior  woodwork  this  last  finish  is  given 
by  applying  one  or  two  coats  of  wax ;  for  the 
exterior,  one  or  two  coats  of  raw  linseed  oil 
may  be  used.  If  the  wood  threatens  to  become 
too  dark  under  the  action  of  the  acid,  the  burn- 
ing process  can  be  stopped  instantly  by  an 
application  of  either  oil  or  wax,  so  that  the 
degree  of  corrosion  is  largely  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  worker.  A  white  hog's-bristle 
brush  should  be  used  for  applying  the  acid, 
as  any  other  kind  of  brush  would  be  eaten  up 
within  a  short  time.     Also  great  care  should 


189 


WOODS  AND   HOW   WE   FINISH  THEM 


be  taken  to  avoid  getting  acid  on  the  face, 
hands,  or  clothing. 

In  connection  with  the  subject  of  cypress 
for  interior  woodwork,  we  desire  to  say  some- 
thing concerning  its  desirability  for  outside 
use,  such  as  half-timbering  and  other  exterior 
woodwork.  It  is  one  of  the  most  attractive 
of  all  our  woods  for  such  use  because  of  its 
color  quality  and  markings  and  it  has  the 
further  advantage  of  "standing"  well,  without 
either  shrinking  or  swelling.  Naturally  the 
sulphuric  acid  treatment  that  we  have  just 
described  applies  to  this  wood  whether  it  is 
used  indoors  or  out. 

Another  use  of  cypress  is  found  in  the  rived 
cypress  shingle  which  give  us  some  of  the 
most  interesting  effects  in  exterior  wall  sur- 
faces. These  shingles  are  the  product  of  one 
of  our  few  remaining  handicrafts,  and  our 
sole  source  of  supply  depends  upon  the  negroes 
in  the  Southern  swamps.  These  negroes  are 
adepts  at  splitting  or  riving  shingles,  and  when 
they  get  the  time  or  need  a  little  extra  money, 
they  split  up  a  few  cypress  logs  into  shingles 
and  carry  them  to  a  lumber  merchant  in  the 
nearest  town.  Consequently,  the  quantity  that 
is  available  in  the  market  varies,  as  no  mer- 
chant has  any  great  or  steady  supply  of  rived 
shingles  and  has  to  accumulate  them  by  degrees 
and  store  them,  in  order  to  be  able  to  fill  any 
large  order.  Being  hand-rived,  these  shingles 
cost  about  twice  as  much  as  the  machine-sawn 
shingles,  but  they  are  well  worth  the  extra 
outlay  if  one  desires  a  house  that  is  beautiful, 
individual  and  durable.  The  sawn  shingle, 
unless  oiled  or  stained  in  the  beginning,  is  apt 
to  get  a  dingy,  weather-beaten  look  under  the 
action  of  sun  and  rain  and  to  require  renew- 
ing early  and  often.  But  the  rived  shingle  has 
exactly  the  surface  of  the  growing  tree  from 
which  the  bark  has  been  stripped ;  or,  to  be 
more  exact,  it  shows  the  split  surface  of  a 
tree  trunk  from  which  a  bough  has  been  torn, 
leaving  the  wood  exposed.  This  surface, 
while  full  of  irregularities,  preserves  the 
smooth  natural  fiber  of  the  tree,  and  this  takes 
on  a  beautiful  color  quality  under  the  action 
of  the  weather,  as  the  color  of  the  wood  ripens 
and  shows  as  an  undertone  below  the  smooth 
silvery  sheen  of  the  surface, — an  effect  which 
is  entirely  lost  when  this  natural  glint  is  cov- 
ered with  the  "fuzz"  left  by  the  saw.  These 
rived  shingles  are  also  made  of  juniper,  which 
is  as  good  in  color  as  cypress  and  has  proven 
itself  even  more  durable. 


All  cypress  woodwork,  whether  interior  or 
exterior,  takes  stain  well;  and  if  staining  is 
preferred  to  the  sulphuric  acid  treatment,  very 
good  effects  may  be  gained  in  this  way.  We 
wish,  however,  to  repeat  the  caution  against 
using  too  strong  a  stain,  as  the  effect  is  always 
much  better  if  a  very  little  color  is  carried  on 
in  each  coat.  We  cannot  too  strongly  urge  the 
necessity  of  preliminary  experimenting  with 
small  pieces  of  wood  in  order  to  gain  the  best 
color  effects,  and  we  also  recommend  that  in 
finishing  the  woodwork  of  the  room  itself  a 
very  light  color  be  put  on  at  first,  to  be  dark- 
ened if  a  deeper  color  is  found  necessary  to 
give  the  desired  effect.  The  reason  for  this 
is  that  a  color  which  may  be  considered  perfect 
upon  a  small  piece  of  wood  that  is  examined 
closely  and  held  to  the  light,  may  prove  either 
too  strong  or  too  weak  when  it  is  seen  on  the 
woodwork  as  a  whole.  Much  of  the  effect 
depends  upon  the  lighting  of  the  room,  and 
therefore  it  is  best  to  go  slowly  and  "work  up" 
the  finish  of  the  woodwork  until  exactly  the 
right  effect  is  gained.  After  staining  cypress 
woodwork  it  should  be  given  either  a  coat  of 
shellac  or  wax,  or  of  wax  alone,  if  the  amount 
of  wear  does  not  necessitate  shellac. 

California  redwood,  when  used  for  interior 
woodwork,  gives  an  effect  as  interesting  as 
that  obtained  by  the  use  of  cypress;  but  red- 
wood does  not  respond  well  to  the  sulphuric 
acid  treatment,  which  darkens  and  destroys  its 
beautfitu*  cool  pinkish  tone.  In  fact,  redwood 
is  best  wfeen  left  in  its  natural  state  and  rubbed 
down  with  wax,  as  it  then  keeps  in  its  purity 
the  color  quality  that  naturally  belongs  to  it. 
Except  for  this  slight  finish  and  protection  to 
the  surface,  it  is  a  good  wood  to  let  alone,  as 
either  oil  or  varnish  gives  it  a  hot  red  look  that 
is  disquieting  to  live  with  and  does  not  har- 
monize with  any  cool  tones  in  the  furniture; 
stains  disguise  the  charm  of  its  natural  color 
and  the  chemical  treatment  brings  out  a 
purplish  tone  and  gives  a  darkened  and  rather 
muddy  effect. 

While  hard  pine  is  fairly  plentiful  and  lends 
itself  well  either  to  the  sulphuric  acid  treat- 
ment or  to  simple  staining,  we  do  not  recom- 
mend it  for  interior  woodwork,  as  it  costs  no 
less  than  other  woods  we  have  mentioned  and 
is  less  interesting  in  color  and  grain.  But  if 
it  should  be  preferred,  we  would  recommend 
that  it  be  treated  with  the  sulphuric  acid,  which 
gives  a  soft  gray  tone  to  the  softer  parts  of 


190 


WOODS   AND   HOW   WE   FINISH   THEM 


the  wood  and  a  good  deal  of  brilliancy  to  the 
markings. 

In  considering  the  woods  that  are  most 
desirable  for  woodwork  in  rooms  where  light 
colors  and  dainty  furnishings  are  used,  birch 
comes  first  on  the  list,  as  it  is  nearest  in  char- 
acter to  the  open-textured  woods  we  have  just 
described.  Of  the  several  varieties,  red  birch 
is  best  for  interior  woodwork.  It  is  easily 
obtained  all  over  the  East,  the  Middle  West 
and  the  South  and  costs  considerably  less  than 
the  other  woods  we  have  mentioned.  When 
left  in  its  natural  state  and  treated  with  sul- 
phuric acid,  red  birch  makes  really  beautiful 
interior  woodwork,  as  the  acid  deepens  its 
natural  color  and  gives  it  a  mellowness  that  is 
as  fine  in  its  way  as  the  mellowness  produced 
in  oak  or  chestnut  by  fuming.  Some  such 
treatment  is  absolutely  necessary,  for  if  red 
birch  is  left  in  its  natural  state,  its  color  fades 
instead  of  ripening,  so  that  it  gets  more  and 
more  of  a  washed-out  look  as  time  goes  on. 
In  using  the  acid  on  birch  it  is  necessary  to 
have  a  stronger  solution  than  is  required  in  the 
case  of  cypress ;  one  part  of  acid  to  three  parts 
of  water  should  give  it  about  the  required 
strength.  One  advantage  of  birch  is  its  hard- 
ness, for  after  the  acid  treatment  it  needs  only 
waxing  and  rubbing  to  give  it  the  final  finish. 
The  good  qualities  of  birch,  treated  in  this  way 
and  used  for  interior  woodwork,  are  very  little 
known,  because  it  is  the  wood  which  has  been 
used  more  than  any  other  to  imitate  mahogany. 
The  grain  of  birch  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the 
more  expensive  wood,  and  when  it  has  been 
given  a  red  water  stain  and  finished  with 
shellac  and  varnish  it  bears  a  close  resemblance 
to  mahogany  finished  in  the  modern  way, — 
which  is  by  no  means  to  be  confused  with  the 
rare  old  Spanish  mahogany  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

Another  excellent  wood  for  use  in  a  room 
that  should  have  comparatively  fine  and  deli- 
cate woodwork  is  maple,  which  can  either  be 
left  in  its  natural  color  or  finished  in  a  tone  of 
clear  silver  gray.  As  is  well  known,  the  nat- 
ural maple  takes  on  with  use  and  wear  a  tone 
of  clear  pale  yellow.  This  is  not  considered 
generally  desirable,  but  if  it  should  be  needed 
to  complete  some  special  color  scheme,  it  can 
be  given  to  new  maple  by  the  careful  use  of 
aqua  fortis,  which  should  be  diluted  with 
water  and  used  like  sulphuric  acid.  The  same 
precautions  should  be  observed  in  using  it,  as 
it  is  a  strong  corrosive.     Maple  is  generally 


considered  much  more  beautiful  when  finished 
in  the  gray  tone,  as  this  harmonizes  admirably 
with  the  colors  most  often  used  in  a  daintily 
furnished  room, — such  as  dull  blue,  old  rose, 
pale  straw  color,  reseda  green  and  old  ivory. 
It  is  not  at  all  difficult  to  obtain  this  gray 
finish,  for  all  that  is  needed  is  to  brush  a  weak 
solution  of  iron  rust  on  the  wood.  This  solu- 
tion is  not  made  by  using  oxide  of  iron, — 
which  is  commonly  but  erroneously  supposed 
to  mean  the  same  thing  as  iron  rust, — but  is 
obtained  by  throwing  iron  filings,  rusty  nails 
or  any  small  pieces  of  iron  into  acid  vinegar 
or  a  weak  solution  of  acetic  acid.  After  a 
couple  of  days  the  solution  should  be  strained 
off  and  diluted  with  water  until  it  is  of  the 
strength  needed  to  get  the  desired  color  upon 
the  wood.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  in  the 
case  of  this  treatment  to  experiment  first  with 
small  pieces  of  wood  before  the  solution  is 
applied  to  the  woodwork  as  a  whole,  because 
otherwise  it  would  be  impossible  to  judge  as 
to  the  strength  of  solution  needed  to  give  the 
desired  effect.  The  color  does  not  show  at  all 
until  the  application  is  thoroughly  dry.  If  it 
is  too  weak,  the  wood  will  not  be  gray  enough, 
and  if  it  is  too  strong,  it  will  be  dark  and 
muddy  looking,  sometimes  almost  black.  After 
the  woodwork  so  treated  is  perfectly  dry  and 
has  been  carefully  sandpapered  with  very  fine 
sandpaper,  it  should  be  given  a  coat  of  thin 
shellac  that  has  been  slightly  darkened  by  put- 
ting in  a  few  drops  of  black  aniline  (the  kind 
that  is  soluble  in  alcohol) ;  then  it  is  given  the 
final  finish  by  rubbing  with  wax.  These  are 
the  only  methods  we  know  that  give  good 
results  on  maple.  We  have  tried  the  sulphuric 
acid  treatment  upon  this  wood,  but  have  not 
found  it  satisfactory. 

Beech,  which  is  a  little  darker  than  maple 
and  of  a  similar  texture  and  grain,  is  equally 
desirable  for  the  same  uses.  It  may  be  treated 
either  with  iron  rust  or  aqua  fortis,  following 
the  same  directions  given  in  the  case  of  maple. 
This  wood  is  cheap  and  abundant  and  is 
usually  found  in  the  same  regions  which  pro- 
duce birch  and  maple.  Poplar  also  does  very 
well  for  the  woodwork  in  a  room  that  is  not 
subjected  to  hard  wear,  as  it  is  a  very  soft 
wood  and  will  not  stand  hard  usage.  The  best 
finish  is  simply  a  brown  or  green  stain  thin 
enough  to  allow  the  natural  color  of  the  wood 
to  show  through  it.  This  natural  color  has  in 
it   a   strong  suggestion   of  green,   so  that  it 


191 


WOODS  AND   HOW   WE   FINISH   THEM 


affiliates  with  the  green  stain  and  modifies  the 
brown. 

One  wood  that  hitherto  has  been  very  little 
known,  but  that  is  coming  more  and  more  into 
prominence  for  the  finer  sorts  of  interior 
woodwork,  is  gumwood,  which  is  obtained 
from  the  red  gum  that  grows  so  abundantly 
in  the  Southern  States  and  on  the  Pacific 
Coast.  It  is  a  pity  that  this  beautiful  wood 
should  have  been  so  little  used  that  most  people 
are  unfamiliar  with  it,  because  for  woodwork 
where  fine  texture,  smooth  surface  and  delicate 
coloring  are  required,  quarter-sawn  gumwood 
stands  unsurpassed  among  our  native  woods. 
The  best  effects  are  obtained  from  gumwood 
by  treating  it  with  the  iron-rust  solution  used 
in  the  way  already  described  in  connection 
with  maple;  but  much  more  diluted,  as  the 
color  of  gumwood  needs  only  the  slightest 
possible  mellowing  and  toning  to  make  it  per- 
fect. When  treated  with  a  very  weak  iron- 
rust  solution  it  bears  a  close  resemblance  to 
Circassian  walnut,  and  the  surface,  which  is 
smooth  and  lustrous  as  satin,  shows  a  delight- 
ful play  of  light  and  shade.  Sulphuric  acid 
may  be  used  on  gumwood,  but  should  be  much 
more  diluted  than  for  any  other  wood,  the 
proportion  of  acid  being  not  more  than  one 
part  to  eight  parts  of  water.  This  treatment 
gives  a  pinkish  cast  to  the  natural  gray-brown 
tone  of  the  wood,  and  while  this  does  not  har- 
monize as  readily  with  most  colors  as  does  the 
pure  gray-brown,  it  is  very  effective  with  cer- 
tain decorative  schemes. 

Other  woods  that  are  valuable  for  interior 
woodwork,  although  much  less  plentiful  than 
those  we  have  named,  are  black  walnut,  butter- 
nut, quartered  sycamore  and  several  other 
woods  that  come  naturally  into  the  same  class. 
Our  American  black  walnut,  although  one  of 
the  standard  woods  in  Europe,  has  been  in  a 
great  measure  spoiled  for  us  because  of  its 
abuse  during  what  we  now  speak  of  as  the 
"black  walnut  period,"  which  has  come  to  mean 
over-ornamentation,  distorted  shapes  and  gen- 
eral bad  taste.  We  have  no  forests  of  black 
walnut  left,  but  there  are  still  single  trees,  so 
that  if  this  wood  is  especially  desired,  it  may 
be  obtained  without  much  difficulty.  The 
characteristics  of  butternut  are  much  the  same 
as  those  of  black  walnut,  but  it  is  rather  lighter 
in  color  and  not  so  hard. 

Many  people  prefer  white  enameled  wood- 
work for  daintily  furnished  rooms.  When  this 
is  used,  the  best  kinds  of  wood  for  the  purpose 


are  poplar  and  basswood,  preferably  poplar. 
One  thing  should  be  remembered  in  connection 
with  white  woodwork,  and  that  is  that  it  should 
be  treated  in  an  entirely  different  way  from 
the  typical  Craftsman  woodwork,  which  de- 
pends for  its  effect  upon  the  beauty  of  color 
and  grain  and  therefore  emphasizes  these  by 
means  of  simple  forms,  straight  lines  and  plain 
surfaces.  When  white  enameled  woodwork  is 
used,  the  style  of  it  should  be  more  elaborate, 
as  all  the  interest  that  naturally  belongs  to  the 
wood  is  hidden,  and  the  only  way  to  obtain  the 
play  of  light  and  shade  necessary  to  break  up 
the  monotony  of  the  white  surface  is  to  use 
moldings,  headings  and  similar  ornamentation, 
after  what  is  called  the  Adam  style,  which  we 
find  in  the  best  of  our  Colonial  houses. 

In  considering  interior  woodwork  one  point 
should  not  be  forgotten ;  that  is  the  great 
interest  that  may  be  obtained  by  the  right  use 
of  what,  from  a  commercial  point  of  view,  is 
faulty  wood.  We  all  know  the  interest  and 
charm  of  paneling  and  other  woodwork  that 
displays  irregularities  in  the  grain,  such  as 
knots,  knurls  and  all  sorts  of  queer  twists. 
One  of  the  best  examples  is  found  in  the 
"curly"  redwood,  which  is  so  greatly  sought 
after  in  California.  While  the  use  of  such 
pieces  adds  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  a  room, 
the  selection  of  them  requires  much  taste  and 
judgment  and  absolutely  demands  that  the  per- 
sonal attention  of  the  owner  or  decorator  be 
given  to  the  work.  It  is  never  safe  to  trust 
the  selection  of  faulty  wood  to  the  lumber 
merchant  or  its  placing  to  the  carpenter.  The 
necessity  of  this  care  is  rather  an  advantage 
than  otherwise,  because  it  is  upon  just  such 
touches  as  these  that  much  of  the  individuality 
of  a  decorative  scheme  depends. 

We  have  treated  fully  the  selection  and 
coloring  of  the  wood,  but  one  practical  detail 
that  should  be  remembered  by  all  who  desire 
beautiful  woodwork  is  that  particular  atten- 
tion should  be  paid  to  having  all  the  wood 
thoroughly  kiln-dried.  Even  more  important 
is  the  necessity  of  having  the  house  free  from 
dampness  before  the  woodwork  is  put  in, 
because  no  wood,  however  dry  and  well 
seasoned,  will  stand  against  the  dampness  of 
a  newly  plastered  house.  In  fact,  the  effect 
upon  the  woodwork  in  such  a  case  is  almost 
worse  than  when  the  wood  itself  is  not  thor- 
oughly seasoned,  for  in  the  latter  case  it  will 
merely  shrink,  while  dampness  in  the  house 
will  cause  it  to  swell  and  bulge.     The  drying 


192 


WOODS  AND   HOW   WE   FINISH  THEM 


of  wood  not  only  needs  close  attention  but  the 
aid  of  some  experienced  person,  as  kiln-dried 
lumber  is  very  apt  to  be  uneven,  and  there  is 
need  of  very  careful  watching  while  the  wood 
is  in  the  kiln  to  insure  the  even  drying  of  all 
the  boards,  or  the  woodwork  will  be  ruined. 

Another  thing  that  is  worth  watching  is  the 
final  smoothing  of  the  wood  before  it  is  put 
into  place.  After  it  leaves  the  planing  machines 
in  the  mill  it  has  to  be  made  still  smoother, 
and  so  most  mills  that  furnish  interior  trim 
have  installed  sandpapering  machines.  These 
are  convenient  and  labor-saving,  but  give  a 
result  that  is  very  undesirable  for  fine  wood- 
work, as  the  rotary  sanding  "fuzzes"  the  grain 
and,  under  the  light  finish  we  use,  it  is  apt  to 
be  raised  and  roughened  by  moisture  absorbed 
from  the  atmosphere.  This  does  not  matter 
when  the  woodwork  is  varnished,  because  the 
varnish  holds  it  down,  but  where  the  natural 
surface  of  the  wood  is  preserved  great  care 
should  be  used  in  the  treatment  of  the  grain. 
The  popularity  of  Craftsman  furniture  and 
interior  woodwork  has  created  a  demand  for 
a  surface  that  shows  the  sheen  of  the  knife 
rather  than  the  fuzz  of  the  sanding  machine, 
and  some  mills  have  met  this  demand  by  put- 
ting in  scraping  machines.  These  give  better 
results  than  the  sanding  machines,  but  nothing 
equals  the  surface  that  is  obtained  by  smooth- 
ing the  wood  by  hand  just  before  it  is  put  into 
place.  For  this  we  use  the  hand  scraper  and 
a  smoothing  plane  that  is  kept  very  sharp,  as 
by  this  method  the  fiber  is  cut  clean  instead  of 
being  "cottoned  out"  and  the  sheen  that  nat- 
urally belongs  to  the  wood  is  unimpaired. 
Although  this  means  hand  work,  it  is  not 
very  expensive  because  of  the  inconsiderable 
quantity  of  wood  that  is  used  in  a  house.  Also 
the  Craftsman  method  of  finishing  afterward 
costs  so  little  that  the  slight  extra  care  and 
expense  incurred  in  obaining  just  the  right 
surface  is  well  worth  while. 

In  connection  with  the  woodwork  in  a  house 
it  is  necessary  to  give  some  attention  to  the 
floors,  which  come  into  close  relation  with  the 


treatment  of  the  walls.  The  best  wood  for 
flooring  is  quartered  oak,  which  all  lumber 
merchants  keep  in  stock  in  narrow  widths, 
tongued  and  grooved.  We  find,  however,  that 
a  more  interesting  floor  can  be  made  by  using 
wider  boards  of  uneven  width,  as  this  gives 
an  effect  of  strength  and  bigness  to  the  room. 
These  wide  boards  need  not  be  tongued  and 
grooved,  but  may  be  put  together  with  butt 
joints  and  the  boards  nailed  through  the  top 
by  using  brad-head  nails  that  can  be  counter- 
sunk and  the  holes  puttied  up  so  that  they  are 
almost  invisible.  When  very  wide  boards  are 
used  it  is  best  to  build  the  floor  in  "three  ply," 
like  paneling.  Plain-sawn  oak  is  also  good  for 
flooring,  but  it  is  more  likely  to  warp  and 
sliver  than  quartered  oak  and  it  does  not  lie 
so  flat.  An  oak  floor,  whether  plain  or 
quarter-sawn,  must  always  be  filled  with  a 
silex  wood  filler  so  that  its  surface  is  made 
smooth  and  non-absorbent.  The  color  should 
be  made  the  same  as  that  of  the  woodwork, 
or  a  little  darker;  and  after  the  stain  is  applied, 
the  floor  should  be  given  one  coat  of  shellac 
and  then  waxed.  In  rooms  where  the  color 
schemes  permit  a  slightly  reddish  tone  in  the 
floor,  we  would  suggest  that  either  birch  or 
beech  be  used  for  flooring,  as  these  may  be 
finished  by  the  sulphuric  acid  process, — a 
method  which  is  better  than  stain  because  it 
darkens  the  wood  itself  and  therefore  does  not 
wear  off  with  use.  If  a  gray  floor  should  be 
desired,  we  would  suggest  maple  treated  with 
the  iron-rust  solution.  In  either  case  a  coat 
of  thin  shellac  should  be  applied  after  the 
chemical  has  been  thoroughly  dried, — say 
twenty-four  hours  after  the  first  application, — 
and  then  waxed  in  the  regular  way.  For  ordi- 
nary floors  a  good  wood  to  use  is  comb- 
grained  pine,  which  receives  its  name  from  the 
method  of  sawing  that  leaves  the  grain  in 
straight  lines,  not  unlike  the  teeth  of  a  comb. 
This  does  not  warp  or  sliver  and  is  very 
durable;  it  may  be  treated  with  stain  and  then 
given  the  regular  finish  of  shellac  and  wax. 


193 


THE  CRAFTSMAN  IDEA  OF  THE  KIND  OF  HOME 
ENVIRONMENT  THAT  WOULD  RESULT  FROM  MORE 
NATURAL  STANDARDS  OF  LIFE  AND  WORK 

SN  this  book  we  have  endeavored  to  set  forth  as  fully  as  possible  the 
several  parts  which,  taken  together,  go  to  make  up  the  Craftsman 
idea  of  the  kind  of  home  environment  that  tends  to  result  in 
wholesome  living.  We  have  shown  the  gradual  growth  of  this 
idea,  from  the  making  of  the  first  pieces  of  Craftsman  furniture 
to  the  completed  house  which  has  in  it  all  the  elements  of  a  per- 
manently satisfying  home.  But  we  have  left  until  the  last  the 
question  of  the  right  setting  for  such  a  home  and  the  conditions  under  which  the 
life  that  is  lived  in  it  could  form  the  foundation  for  the  fullest  individual  and 
social  development. 

There  is  no  question  now  as  to  the  reality  of  the  world-wide  movement  in  the 
direction  of  better  things.  We  see  everywhere  efforts  to  reform  social,  political 
and  industrial  conditions;  the  desire  to  bring  about  better  opportunities  for  all 
and  to  find  some  way  of  adjusting  economic  conditions  so  that  the  heart-breaking 
inequalities  of  our  modern  civilized  life  shall  in  some  measure  be  done  away  with. 
But  while  we  take  the  greatest  interest  in  all  efforts  toward  reform  in  any  direc- 
tion, we  remain  firm  in  the  conviction  that  the  root  of  all  reform  lies  in  the  indi- 
vidual and  that  the  life  of  the  individual  is  shaped  mainly  by  home  surroundings 
and  influences  and  by  the  kind  of  education  that  goes  to  make  real  men  and 
women  instead  of  grist  for  the  commercial  mill. 

That  the  influence  of  the  home  is  of  the  first  importance  in  the  shaping  of 
character  is  a  fact  too  well  understood  and  too  generally  admitted  to  be  offered 
here  as  a  new  idea.  One  need  only  turn  to  the  pages  of  history  to  find  abundant 
proof  of  the  unerring  action  of  Nature's  law,  for  without  exception  the  people 
whose  lives  are  lived  simply  and  wholesomely,  in  the  open,  and  who  have  in  a 
high  degree  the  sense  of  the  sacredness  of  the  home,  are  the  people  who  have 
made  the  greatest  strides  in  the  development  of  the  race.  When  luxury  enters 
in  and  a  thousand  artificial  requirements  come  to  be  regarded  as  real  needs,  the 
nation  is  on  the  brink  of  degeneration.  So  often  has  the  story  repeated  itself 
that  he  who  runs  may  read  its  deep  significance.  In  our  own  country,  to  which 
has  fallen  the  heritage  of  all  the  older  civilizations,  the  course  has  been  swift,  for 
we  are  yet  close  to  the  memory  of  the  primitive  pioneer  days  when  the  nation  was 
building,  and  we  have  still  the  crudity  as  well  as  the  vigor  of  youth.  But  so 
rapid  and  easy  has  been  our  development  and  so  great  our  prosperity  that  even 
now  we  are  in  some  respects  very  nearly  in  the  same  state  as  the  older  peoples 
who  have  passed  the  zenith  of  their  power  and  are  beginning  to  decline.  In  our 
own  case,  however,  the  saving  grace  lies  in  the  fact  that  our  taste  for  luxury  and 
artificiality  is  not  as  yet  deeply  ingrained.  We  are  intensely  commercial,  fond 
of  all  the  good  things  of  life,  proud  of  our  ability  to  "get  there,"  and  we  yield  the 
palm  to  none  in  the  matter  of  owning  anything  that  money  can  buy.  But, 
fortunately,  our  pioneer  days  are  not  ended  even  now  and  we  still  have  a  goodly 
number  of  men  and  women  who  are  helping  to  develop  the  country  and  make 
history  merely  by  living  simple  natural  lives  close  to  the  soil  and  full  of  the  interest 
and  pleasure  which  come  from  kinship  with  Nature  and  the  kind  of  work  that 

194 


THE  CRAFTSMAN  IDEA 

calls  forth  all  their  resources  in  the  way  of  self-reliance  and  the  power  of  initiative. 
Even  in  the  rush  and  hurry  of  life  in  our  busy  cities  we  remember  well  the  quality 
given  to  the  growing  nation  by  such  men  and  women  a  generation  or  two  ago  and, 
in  spite  of  the  chaotic  conditions  brought  about  by  our  passion  for  money-getting, 
extravagance  and  show,  we  have  still  reason  to  believe  that  the  dominant  char- 
acteristics of  the  pioneer  yet  shape  what  are  the  salient  qualities  in  American  life. 
To  preserve  these  characteristics  and  to  bring  back  to  individual  life  and 
work  the  vigorous  constructive  spirit  which  during  the  last  half-century  has 
spent  its  activities  in  commercial  and  industrial  expansion,  is,  in  a  nut-shell,  the 
Craftsman  idea.  We  need  to  straighten  out  our  standards  and  to  get  rid  of  a 
lot  of  rubbish  that  we  have  accumulated  along  with  our  wealth  and  commer- 
cial supremacy.  It  is  not  that  we  are  too  energetic,  but  that  in  many  ways  we 
have  wasted  and  misused  our  energy  precisely  as  we  have  wasted  and  misused 
so  many  of  our  wonderful  natural  resources.  All  we  really  need  is  a  change 
in  our  point  of  view  toward  life  and  a  keener  perception  regarding  the  things 
that  count  and  the  things  which  merely  burden  us.  This  being  the  case,  it  would 
seem  obvious  that  the  place  to  begin  a  readjustment  is  in  the  home,  for  it  is  only 
natural  that  the  relief  from  friction  which  would  follow  the  ordering  of  our  lives 
along  more  simple  and  reasonable  lines  would  not  only  assure  greater  comfort, 
and  therefore  greater  efficiency,  to  the  workers  of  the  nation,  but  would  give 
the  children  a  chance  to  grow  up  under  conditions  which  would  be  conducive 
to  a  higher  degree  of  mental,  moral  and  physical  efficiency. 

THEREFORE  we  regard  it  as  at  least  a  step  in  the  direction  of  bringing 
about  better  conditions  when  we  try  to  plan  and  build  houses  which  will 
simplify  the  work  of  home  life  and  add  to  its  wholesome  joy  and  comfort. 
We  have  already  made  it  plain  to  our  readers  that  we  do  not  believe  in  large 
houses  with  many  rooms  elaborately  decorated  and  furnished,  for  the  reason 
that  these  seem  so  essentially  an  outcome  of  the  artificial  conditions  that  lay 
such  harassing  burdens  upon  modern  life  and  form  such  a  serious  menace  to 
our  ethical  standards.  Breeding  as  it  does  the  spirit  of  extravagance  and  of 
discontent  which  in  the  end  destroys  all  the  sweetness  of  home  life,  the  desire 
for  luxury  and  show  not  only  burdens  beyond  his  strength  the  man  who  is  am- 
bitious to  provide  for  his  wife  and  children  surroundings  which  are  as  good  as 
the  best,  but  taxes  to  the  utmost  the  woman  who  is  trying  to  keep  up  the  appear- 
ances which  she  believes  should  belong  to  her  station  in  life.  Worst  of  all,  it 
starts  the  children  with  standards  which,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  utterly  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  their  beginning  life  on  their  own  account  in  a  simple  and 
sensible  way.  Boys  who  are  brought  up  in  such  homes  are  taught,  by  the  silent 
influence  of  their  early  surroundings,  to  take  it  for  granted  that  they  must  not 
marry  until  they  are  able  to  keep  up  an  establishment  of  equal  pretensions,  and 
girls  also  take  it  as  a  matter  of  course  that  marriage  must  mean  something  quite 
as  luxurious  as  the  home  of  their  childhood  or  it  is  not  a  paying  investment  for 
their  youth  and  beauty.  Everyone  who  thinks  at  all  deplores  the  kind  of  life 
that  marks  a  man's  face  with  the  haggard  fines  of  anxiety  and  makes  him  sharp 
and  often  unscrupulous  in  business,  with  no  ambition  beyond  large  profits  and 
a  rapid  rise  in  the  business  world.     Also  we  all  realize  regretfully  the  extrava- 

195 


THE   CRAFTSMAN   IDEA 

o-ance  and  uselessness  of  many  of  our  women  and  admit  that  one  of  the  gravest 
evils  of  our  times  is  the  light  toueh-and-go  attitude  toward  marriage,  which  breaks 
up  so  many  homes  and  makes  the  divorce  courts  in  America  a  by-woid  to  the 
world.  But  when  we  think  into  it  a  little  more  deeply,  we  have  to  acknowledge 
that  such  conditions  are  the  logical  outcome  of  our  standards  of  living  and  that 
these  standards  are  always  shaped  in  the  home. 

That  is  why  we  have  from  the  first  planned  houses  that  are  based  on  the  big 
fundamental  principles  of  honesty,  simplicity  and  usefulness, — the  kind  of  houses 
that  children  will  rejoice  all  their  lives  to  remember  as  "home,"  and  that  give 
a  sense  of  peace  and  comfort  to  the  tired  men  who  go  back  to  them  when  the 
day's  work  is  done.  Because  we  believe  that  the  healthiest  and  happiest  life 
is  that  which  maintains  the  closest  relationship  with  out-of-doors,  we  have 
planned  our  houses  with  outdoor  living  rooms,  dining  rooms  and  sleeping  rooms, 
and  many  windows  to  let  in  plenty  of  air  and  sunlight.  The  most  cursory  ex- 
amination of  the  floor  plans  given  in  this  book  will  show  that  we  have  put  into 
practical  effect  our  conviction  that  a  house,  whatever  its  dimensions,  should 
have  plenty  of  free  space  unencumbered  by  unnecessary  partitions  or  over-much 
furniture.  Therefore  we  have  made  the  general  living  rooms  as  large  as  pos- 
sible and  not  too  much  separated  one  from  the  other.  It  seems  to  us  much  more 
friendly,  homelike  and  comfortable  to  have  one  big  living  room  into  which  one 
steps  directly  from  the  entrance  door, — or  from  a  small  vestibule  if  the  climate 
demands  such  a  protection, — and  to  have  this  living  room  the  place  where  all 
the  business  and  pleasure  of  the  common  family  life  may  be  carried  on.  And 
we  like  it  to  have  pleasant  nooks  and  corners  which  give  a  comfortable  sense  of 
semi-privacy  and  yet  are  not  in  any  way  shut  off  from  the  larger  life  of  the  room. 
Such  an  arrangement  has  always  seemed  to  us  symbolic  of  the  ideal  conditions 
of  social  life.  The  big  hospitable  fireplace  is  almost  a  necessity,  for  the  hearth- 
stone is  always  the  center  of  true  home  life,  and  the  very  spirit  of  home  seems 
to  be  lacking  when  a  register  or  radiator  tries  ineffectually  to  take  the  place  of 
a  glowing  grate  or  a  crackling  leaping  fire  of  logs. 

Then  too  we  believe  that  the  staircase,  instead  of  being  hidden  away  in  a 
small  hall  or  treated  as  a  necessary  evil,  should  be  made  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful and  prominent  features  of  the  room,  because  it  forms  a  link  between  the 
social  part  of  the  house  and  the  upper  regions  which  belong  to  the  inner  and 
individual  part  of  the  family  life.  Equally  symbolic  is  our  purpose  in  making 
the  dining  room  either  almost  or  wholly  a  part  of  the  living  room,  for  to  us  it  is  a 
constant  expression  of  the  fine  spirit  of  hospitality  to  have  the  dining  room,  in 
a  way,  open  to  all  comers.  Furthermore,  such  an  arrangement  is  a  strong  and 
subtle  influence  in  the  direction  of  simpler  living  because  entertainment  under 
such  conditions  naturally  grows  less  elaborate  and  more  friendly, — less  alien 
to  the  regular  life  of  the  family  and  less  a  matter  of  social  formality. 

Take  a  house  planned  in  this  way,  with  a  big  living  room  made  comfortable 
and  homelike  and  beautiful  with  its  great  fireplace,  open  staircase,  casement 
windows,  built-in  seats,  cupboards,  bookcases,  sideboard  and  perhaps  French 
doors  opening  out  upon  a  porch  which  links  the  house  with  the  garden;  fill  this 
room  with  soft  rich  restful  color,  based  upon  the  mellow  radiance  of  the  wood 
tones  and  sparkling  into  the  jeweled  high  lights  given  forth  by  copper,  brass, 

196 


THE   CRAFTSMAN   IDEA 

or  embroideries;  then  contrast  it  in  your  own  mind  with  a  house  which  is  cut  up 
into  vestibule,  hall,  reception  room,  parlor,  library,  dining  room  and  den, — 
each  one  a  separate  room,  each  one  overcrowded  with  furniture,  pictures  and 
bric-a-brac, — and  judge  for  yourself  whether  or  not  home  surroundings  have 
any  power  to  influence  the  family  life  and  the  development  of  character.  If 
you  will  examine  carefully  the  houses  shown  in  this  book,  you  will  see  that  they 
all  form  varying  expressions  of  the  central  idea  we  have  just  explained,  although 
each  one  is  modified  to  suit  the  individual  taste  and  requirements  of  the  owner. 
This  is  as  it  should  be,  for  a  house  expresses  character  quite  as  vividly  as  does 
dress  and  the  more  intimate  personal  belongings,  and  no  man  or  woman  can 
step  into  a  dwelling  ready  made  and  decorated  according  to  some  other  per- 
son's tastes  and  preferences  without  feeling  a  sense  of  strangeness  that  must 
be  overcome  before  the  house  can  be  called  a  real  home. 

It  will  also  be  noticed  in  examining  the  plans  of  the  Craftsman  houses  that 
we  have  paid  particular  attention  to  the  convenient  arrangement  of  the  kitchen. 
In  these  days  of  difficulties  with  servants  and  of  inadequate,  inexperienced  help, 
more  and  more  women  are,  perforce,  learning  to  depend  upon  themselves  to 
keep  the  household  machinery  running  smoothly.  It  is  good  that  this  should  be 
so,  for  woman  is  above  all  things  the  home  maker  and  our  grandmothers  were 
not  far  wrong  when  they  taught  their  daughters  that  a  woman  who  could  not 
keep  house,  and  do  it  well,  was  not  making  of  her  life  the  success  that  could 
reasonably  be  expected  of  her,  nor  was  she  doing  her  whole  duty  by  her  family. 
The  idea  that  housekeeping  means  drudgery  is  partly  due  to  our  fussy,  artificial, 
overcrowded  way  of  living  and  partly  to  our  elaborate  houses  and  to  incon- 
venient arrangements.  We  believe  in  having  the  kitchen  small,  so  that  extra 
steps  may  be  avoided,  and  fitted  with  every  kind  of  convenience  and  comfort; 
with  plenty  of  shelves  and  cupboards,  open  plumbing,  the  hooded  range  which 
carries  off  all  odors  of  cooking,  the  refrigerator  which  can  be  filled  from  the  out- 
side,— in  fact,  everything  that  tends  to  save  time,  strength  and  worry.  In  these 
days  the  cook  is  an  uncertain  quantity  always  and  maids  come  and  go  like  the 
seasons,  so  the  wise  woman  keeps  herself  fully  equipped  to  take  up  the  work  of 
her  own  house  at  a  moment's  notice,  by  being  in  such  close  touch  with  it  all  the 
time  that  she  never  lays  down  the  reins  of  personal  government.  The  Craftsman 
house  is  built  for  this  kind  of  a  woman  and  we  claim  that  it  is  in  itself  an  incen- 
tive to  the  daughters  of  the  house  to  take  a  genuine  and  pleasurable  interest 
in  household  work  and  affairs,  so  that  they  in  their  turn  will  be  fairly  equipped 
as  home  makers  when  the  time  comes  for  them  to  take  up  the  more  serious 
duties  of  life. 

WE  HAVE  set  forth  the  principles  that  rule  the  planm'ng  of  the  Craftsman 
house  and  have  hinted  at  the  kind  of  life  that  would  naturally  result 
from  such  an  environment.  But  now  comes  one  of  the  most  important 
elements  of  the  whole  question, — the  surroundings  of  the  home.  We  need 
hardly  say  that  a  house  of  the  kind  we  have  described  belongs  either  in  the  open 
country  or  in  a  small  village  or  town,  where  the  dwellings  do  not  elbow  or  crowd 
one  another  any  more  than  the  people  do.  We  have  planned  houses  for  country 
living  because  we  firmly  believe  that  the  country  is  the  only  place  to  live  in. 

197 


THE   CRAFTSMAN   IDEA 

The  city  is  all  very  well  for  business,  for  amusement  and  some  formal  entertain- 
ment,— in  fact  for  anything  and  everything  that,  by  its  nature,  must  be  carried 
on  outside  of  the  home.  But  the  home  itself  should  be  in  some  place  where 
there  is  peace  and  quiet,  plenty  of  room  and  the  chance  to  establish  a  sense  of 
intimate  relationship  with  the  hills  and  valleys,  trees  and  brooks  and  all  the 
things  which  tend  to  lessen  the  strain  and  worry  of  modern  life  by  reminding  us  that 
after  all  we  are  one  with  Nature. 

Also  it  is  a  fact  that  the  type  of  mind  which  appreciates  the  value  of  having 
the  right  kind  of  a  home,  and  recognizes  the  right  of  growing  children  to  the 
most  natural  and  wholesome  surroundings,  is  almost  sure  to  feel  the  need  of  life 
in  the  open,  where  all  the  conditions  of  daily  life  may  so  easily  be  made  sane  and 
constructive  instead  of  artificial  and  disintegrating.  People  who  think  enough 
about  the  influence  of  environment  to  put  interest  and  care  into  the  planning  of 
a  dwelling  which  shall  express  all  that  the  word  "home"  means  to  them,  are 
usually  the  people  who  like  to  have  a  personal  acquaintance  with  every  animal, 
tree  and  flower  on  the  place.  They  appreciate  the  interest  of  planting  things 
and  seeing  them  grow,  and  enjoy  to  the  fullest  the  exhilarating  anxiety  about 
crops  that  comes  only  to  the  man  who  planted  them  and  means  to  use  them  to 
the  best  advantage.  Then  again,  such  people  feel  that  half  the  zest  of  life  would 
be  gone  if  they  were  to  miss  the  fulness  of  joy  that  each  returning  spring  brings 
to  those  who  watch  eagerly  for  the  new  green  of  the  grass  and  the  blossoming  of 
the  trees.  They  feel  that  no  summer  resort  can  oner  pleasures  equal  to  that 
which  they  find  in  watching  the  full  flowering  of  the  year;  in  seeing  how  their 
own  agricultural  experiments  turn  out,  and  in  triumphing  over  each  success  and 
each  addition  to  the  beauty  of  the  place  that  is  their  own.  Few  of  these  people, 
too,  would  care  to  miss  the  sense  of  peace  and  fulfilment  in  autumn  days,  when 
the  waning  beauty  of  the  year  comes  into  such  close  kinship  with  the  mellow 
ripeness  of  a  well-spent  life  that  has  borne  full  fruit.  And  what  child  is  there 
in  the  world  who  would  spend  the  winter  in  the  city  when  there  are  ice-covered 
brooks  to  skate  on,  the  comfort  of  jolly  evenings  by  the  fire  and  the  never-ending 
wonder  of  the  snow  ?  And  all  the  year  round  there  are  the  dumb  creatures  for 
whom  we  have  no  room  or  time  in  the  city, — the  younger  brothers  of  humanity 
who  submit  so  humbly  to  man's  dominion  and  look  so  placidly  to  him  for  protec- 
tion and  sustenance. 

THANK  heaven,  though,  we  are  not  so  far  away  from  our  natural  environ- 
ment that  it  needs  much  to  take  us  back  to  it.  We  have  many  evidences 
of  the  turning  of  the  tide  of  home  life  from  the  city  toward  the  country. 
Even  workers  in  the  city  are  coming  more  and  more  to  realize  that  it  is  quite 
possible  to  maintain  their  place  in  the  business  world  and  yet  give  their  children 
a  chance  to  grow  up  in  the  country.  Also  the  economic  advantage  of  building 
a  permanent  home  instead  of  paying  rent  year  after  year  is  gaining  an  ever- 
increasing  recognition,  so  that  in  a  few  years  the  American  people  may  cease  to 
deserve  the  reproach  of  being  a  nation  of  flat-dwellers  and  sojourners  in  family 
hotels.  The  instinct  for  home  and  for  some  tie  that  connects  us  with  the  land 
is  stronger  than  any  passing  fashion,  and  although  we  have  in  our  national  life 
phases  of  artificiality  that  are  demoralizing  they  affect  only  a  small  percentage 

198 


THE   CRAFTSMAN   IDEA 

that  affords  the  greatest  opportunity  for  all-round  development,  but  also  a  per- 
manent competence.  To  bring  about  such  a  condition  is  the  end  and  aim  of  the 
whole  Craftsman  idea.  We  call  it  by  that  name  because  we  have  been  the  first 
to  formulate  it  in  this  country.  But  it  is  in  the  air  everywhere.  It  is  taking 
shape  in  several  of  the  European  countries  in  the  form  of  government  appro- 
priations for  the  reestablishment  and  encouragement  of  handicrafts  among  the 
people,  government  schools  for  the  teaching  of  various  crafts,  and  government 
exchanges  to  look  after  the  question  of  a  steady  market.  In  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  the  same  thing  is  being  done  by  private  enterprise,  partly  as  a  matter 
of  social  reform  and  partly  as  an  effort  of  philanthropy.  But  in  this  country 
conditions  are  different.  We  have  no  peasant  class  and  almost  the  only  people 
in  need  of  social  reform,  or  of  philanthropic  efforts  in  their  behalf  are  the  vast 
hordes  of  immigrants  who  pour  into  the  country  each  year  and  too  often  find 
it  difficult  to  adjust  their  lives  to  American  conditions. 

THE  people  to  whom  the  Craftsman  idea  makes  its  appeal  are  the  better 
class  farmers  who  own  their  farms,  workers  in  the  city  who  are  able  to  get 
together  a  little  place  in  the  country  and  build  up  a  permanent  home,  and 
the  better  class  of  artisans  who  desire  to  escape  from  the  routine  of  factory  work. 
That  such  people  are  taking  a  keen  interest  in  the  question  of  life  in  the  country 
and  that  farming  is  rapidly  being  restored  to  its  former  status  as  a  desirable  occu- 
pation is  evidenced  by  the  encouragement  given  to  the  widespread  activities  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  which  is  doing  so  much  to  bring  about  better 
and  more  economical  methods  of  cultivating  the  soil.  We  have  plenty  of  proof 
that  these  efforts  do  not  fall  short  in  the  matter  of  results,  for  all  over  the  country 
there  is  a  growing  appreciation  of  the  possibilities  that  lie  in  intensive  agriculture 
and  a  desire  to  learn  something  of  modern  scientific  farming.  We  most  heartily 
endorse  all  that  is  being  done  along  these  lines ;  but  we  go  a  step  farther  because 
we  maintain  that  the  whole  standard  of  living  must  be  changed  before  there  can 
be  a  return  of  natural  conditions  to  our  lives.  For  example,  we  have  been  ac- 
customed of  late  years  to  an  artificial  scale  of  income  and  expenditure,  and  the 
prices  of  the  most  ordinary  necessities  of  life  have  risen  so  high  that  it  takes  all 
the  average  man  can  do  to  make  ends  meet.  This  is  both  wrong  and  unneces- 
sary, but  a  natural  consequence  of  artificial  conditions,  and  we  maintain  that  the 
only  way  to  correct  it  is  to  put  ourselves  in  a  position  to  realize  that,  in  permitting 
our  lives  to  be  ruled  by  false  standards  and  inflated  values,  we  have  lost  sight  of 
the  principle  that  economy  means  wealth.  When  we  regain  this  simple  and 
reasonable  point  of  view,  we  will  find  no  difficulty  in  admitting  that  comfort  and 
happiness  in  living  do  not  depend  upon  the  amount  of  money  we  can  make  and 
spend,  but  upon  pleasant  surroundings  and  freedom  from  the  pressure  of  want 
and  apprehension;  and  when  this  truth  is  brought  home  to  the  affairs  of  daily 
life,  the  work  of  establishing  natural  standards  is  done. 

Therefore  we  advocate  a  return  to  cultivating  the  soil  as  a  means  of  obtaining 
the  actual  living, — that  is,  of  looking  to  garden,  grain-patch,  orchard,  chicken 
yard  and  pasture  for  the  vegetables,  fruits,  cereals,  eggs  and  meat  consumed  by 
the  family.  If  properly  cared  for  and  cultivated  according  to  the  modern  methods 
that  are  now  everybody's  for  the  learning,  a  little  farm  of  five  or  ten  acres  can  be 

201 


THE   CRAFTSMAN   IDEA 

made  not  only  to  yield  a  living  for  its  owner  and  his  family  but  a  handsome  sur- 
plus for  the  markets,  thus  serving  the  double  purpose  of  stopping  the  outflow 
and  adding  to  the  income  of  actual  money  as  well  as  providing  home  comfort 
and  healthful  working  surroundings.  The  farm  home  once  established,  its 
owner  is  free  of  any  steady  expense  save  for  taxes  and  repairs,  so  that  every- 
thing that  is  done  is  constructive  and  cumulative  in  its  effects. 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  whole  idea  of  the  Craftsman  home, — a  pleasant  com- 
fortable dwelling  situated  on  a  piece  of  ground  large  enough  to  yield,  under  proper 
cultivation,  a  great  part  of  the  food  supply  for  the  family.  Such  a  home,  by 
its  very  nature,  would  be  permanent  and,  with  the  right  kind  of  education  and 
healthful  occupation  for  the  children,  would  do  much  to  stop  the  flow  of  popu- 
lation into  the  great  commercial  centers  and  to  insure  a  more  even  division  of 
ftrosperity  throughout  the  land.  In  many  instances  the  home  is  an  established 
act,  but  the  education  and  the  occupation  are  yet  to  come.  It  is  with  a  view  to 
solving  this  problem  that  we  advocate  individual  handicrafts  in  the  home  and 
industries  to  be  carried  on  upon  a  more  extended  scale  in  the  neighborhood  or 
the  village.  The  very  fact  of  a  thorough  training  in  any  useful  craft  would  in- 
sure to  a  boy  or  girl  the  right  groundwork  for  an  education,  so  that  the  solution 
of  one  problem  is  practically  a  solution  of  both. 

Naturally,  the  greatest  field  for  home  handicrafts  lies  in  the  making  of  house- 
hold furnishings,  wearing  apparel  and  articles  of  daily  use.  For  example,  there 
is  a  large  and  steady  demand  for  hand-woven,  hooked  and  hand-tufted  rugs  in 
good  designs  and  harmonious  colorings,  especially  when  they  can  be  had  at 
reasonable  prices.  That  there  would  be  a  market  for  good  hand-made  rugs 
in  this  country  is  shown  by  the  demand  for  similar  rugs  that  are  made  abroad 
by  peasant  labor.  This  is,  of  course,  much  cheaper  than  any  class  of  labor  in 
this  country.  Nevertheless,  the  same  grade  of  rugs  could  be  made  here  by  home 
and  farm  workers  and  sold  at  a  profit  at  the  same  price  that  must  be  demanded 
for  the  imported  rugs,  after  the  high  import  duty  on  this  class  of  goods  has  been 
added  to  the  original  cost.  Also  cabinetmaking,  considered  as  a  handicraft, 
opens  a  field  of  unusually  wide  and  varied  interest,  as  the  making  of  things  so 
closely  associated  with  our  daily  life  and  surroundings  is  a  form  of  work  that  is 
both  delightful  and  profitable.  Iron  work  is  equally  interesting,  and  a  prelim- 
inary training  in  good  hard  blacksmithing  not  only  offers  an  excellent  founda- 
tion for  the  doing  of  good  things  in  structural  iron  work  and  articles  for  house- 
hold use,  but  it  equals  wood  work  in  developing  any  creative  power  that  may  be 
latent  in  the  worker.  Weaving  and  needlework  come  into  the  first  rank  of  in- 
teresting and  profitable  crafts,  and  among  the  lighter  industries  that  offer  a 
chance  for  individual  expression  and  at  the  same  time  pay  pretty  well,  are  basketry, 
block  printing,  dyeing,  lace  making,  bookbinding  and  the  like. 

EVER  since  its  first  publication  in  nineteen  hundred  and  one,  The  Crafts- 
man Magazine  has,  intone  form  or  another,  been  advocating  this  idea;  and 
we  have  most  satisfactory  proof  in  the  growth  and  standing  of  the  maga- 
zine that  a  great  many  people  in  this  country  are  thinking  along  the  same  lines. 
When  The  Craftsman  was  founded  it  was  with  the  intention  of  making 
it  a  magazine  devoted  almost  solely  to  the  encouragement  of  handicrafts  in  this 

202 


THE   CRAFTSMAN   IDEA 

country.  We  believed,  then,  as  we  believe  now,  in  the  immense  influence  for 
good  in  the  development  of  character  that  is  exerted  merely  by  learning  to  use 
the  hands.  One  needs  only  to  look  at  any  part  of  the  history  of  handicrafts 
to  realize  how  much  strength,  sincerity  and  genuine  creative  thought  went  into 
the  work  of  the  old  craftsmen  who  were  also  such  solid  and  substantial  citizens. 
We  have  always  felt  that  it  is  not  the  making  of  things  that  is  important,  but 
the  making  of  strong  men  and  women  through  the  agency  of  the  sound  develop- 
ment that  begins  when  the  child  learns  to  use  its  hands  for  shaping  to  the  best 
of  its  ability  something  which  is  really  needed  either  for  its  own  play  or  for  the  com- 
fort and  convenience  of  others  in  the  home.  It  is  going  back  in  spirit  to  the  primi- 
tive beginning  of  handicrafts,— which  marks  the  beginning  of  civilization,  and  is 
so  important  a  factor  in  the  growth  of  character  that  upon  it  depends  nearly  every 
quality  of  heart  and  brain  that  goes  into  what  we  may  call  the  craftsmanship 
of  life.  But,  as  The  Craftsman  grew  and  step  by  step  attained  a  wider  out- 
look, the  question  of  the  study  of  handicrafts  as  an  end  in  itself  gradually 
sunk  to  a  position  of  minor  importance  in  the  policy  of  the  magazine.  Our 
belief  that  in  it  lay  the  foundation  of  all  growth  was  no  less,  but  the  field  was  so 
broad  that  the  record  and  discussion  of  all  constructive  work  in  the  larger  affairs 
of  life  came  gradually  to  take  first  place. 

As  we  began  to  design  houses  and  to  shape  the  idea  of  the  Craftsman  country 
home  as  we  have  here  tried  to  describe  it,  we  took  up  the  subjects  of  architecture  and 
interior  decoration,  doing  our  best  to  promote  the  establishment  of  the  right  stand- 
ards and  to  offer  all  the  aid  in  our  power  toward  the  development  of  a  national 
spirit  in  our  architecture.  This  naturally  led  to  other  forms  of  art,  and  The 
Craftsman  became  a  magazine  for  painters  and  sculptors  as  well  as  for  ar- 
chitects, interior  decorators  and  craftsmen.  Along  these  lines  it  has  always 
been  progressive  and  rather  radical,  aiming  always  to  discover  and  bring  to  the 
front  any  notable  achievement  that  seemed  to  indicate  the  blazing  of  a  new  trail. 
The  magazine  has  also  taken  the  deepest  interest  in  all  social,  industrial  and 
political  reforms  and  in  the  question  of  industrial  education  along  practical 
lines  that  would  fit  any  boy  or  girl  to  earn  a  living  under  any  and  all  circum- 
stances. In  fact,  taken  altogether,  The  Craftsman  has  been  the  outward 
and  visible  expression  of  the  more  philosophic  side  of  the  Craftsman  idea,  just 
as  the  houses  and  their  furnishings  have  put  into  form  its  more  concrete  phases. 

We  have  also  paid  a  good  deal  of  attention  to  agriculture  in  The  Crafts- 
man, taking  it  up  along  very  general  lines.  But  we  nave  felt  that  this  is  a  field 
which  required  much  more  exhaustive  treatment  than  we  are  able  to  give  it  in 
the  pages  of  a  magazine  of  this  character.  So  to  meet  this  need,  we  are  about 
to  establish  a  second  magazine  that  will  be  called  "The  Yeoman"  and  that 
will  be  devoted  entirely  to  the  interests  of  farming,  the  possibilities  of  life  in 
rural  communities  and  to  the  handicrafts  that  might  profitably  be  carried  on  in 
connection  with  agriculture. 

THE  time  has  come,  however,  to  test  out  all  the  principles  we  have  been 
advocating  and  give  them  the  most  practical  and  comprehensive  demon- 
stration within  our  power.     Therefore  we  are  this  year  opening  a  country 
place,  where  everything  we  have  said  can  be  put  to  the  test  of  practical  experience. 

203 


THE   CRAFTSMAN   IDEA 

This  place  is  called  "Craftsman  Farms"  and  it  serves  as  a  most  complete 
exposition  of  the  Craftsman  idea  as  a  whole.  "Craftsman  Farms"  is  situated 
in  the  hill  country  of  New  Jersey,  and  our  intention  is  to  make  it  a  summer  home 
and  school  for  students  of  farming  and  handicrafts.  While  grown  people  are 
welcome,  the  chief  object  of  the  school's  existence  is  to  provide  an  opportunity 
for  the  instruction  of  boys  and  girls  whose  parents  desire  for  them  a  method  of 
training  that  will  enable  them  to  earn  a  living  in  whatever  circumstances  they 
may  happen  to  be  placed.  In  other  words,  we  purpose  to  teach  them  to  work 
with  their  hands, — not  to  hoe,  dig,  plow,  or  chop  wood  in  a  mechanical  way, — 
but  to  do  the  kind  of  constructive  work  which  requires  direct  thought  and  which 
will  train  them  to  cope  with  all  the  practical  problems  of  life.  In  fact,  the  plan 
of  the  school  is  not  only  a  return  to  the  old  system  of  apprenticeship,  where  the 
student  learned  his  trade  by  mastering  its  difficulties  one  by  one  under  the  guid- 
ance of  a  master  craftsman,  but  it  is  apprenticeship  on  improved  lines  because, 
instead  of  working  for  the  benefit  of  the  master,  the  student  acquires  by  working 
solely  for  the  sake  of  his  own  thorough  training  and  the  development  in  himself 
not  merely  skill  but  initiative  and  self-reliance. 

The  instruction  will  be  in  the  form  of  lectures  and  informal  talks  from  the 
teachers,  who  will  not  only  give  in  this  way  such  theoretical  knowledge  as  seems 
to  be  required  but  will  answer  all  questions  and  respond  to  all  suggestions,  so 
that  the  student's  brain  is  necessarily  made  alert  by  his  being  forced  to  take  an 
active  part  in  his  own  training.  The  method  of  instruction  will  be  the  same 
throughout,  whether  the  subject  be  agriculture,  landscape  gardening,  house 
building,  designing,  or  any  one  of  the  handicrafts.  In  the  latter,  students  will 
work  side  by  side  with  experienced  craftsmen,  so  that  every  lesson  will  be  the 
solving  of  some  problem  and  the  doing  of  actual  work  according  to  the  methods 
employed  by  the  best  workmen. 

For  example,  every  man,  sooner  or  later,  hopes  or  intends  to  build  himself 
a  home.  Imagine  what  that  home  might  be  if,  as  a  boy,  he  had  been  trained  to 
have  a  practical  working  knowledge  of  drawing,  of  construction,  of  the  quality 
and  use  of  different  woods,  of  finishing  these  woods  so  that  their  full  value  would 
be  brought  out  and  of  laying  out  the  grounds  surrounding  his  house  so  that  the 
most  harmonious  environment  would  be  a  matter  of  course.  As  the  thing  stands 
now,  most  men  hire  some  one  else  to  do  this  sort  of  thing,  which  practically 
amounts  to  hiring  some  one  else  to  think  for  them  in  matters  that  most  intimately 
concern  their  personal  life  and  surroundings. 

It  is  now  being  very  generally  acknowledged  that  our  present  methods  of 
education  fail  to  a  serious  degree  in  the  vital  work  of  educating  boys  and  girls 
toward  the  larger  business  of  life, — toward  the  understanding  of  how  to  do,  and 
the  ability  to  do,  those  things  upon  which  our  physical  existence  depends.  It 
does  not  by  any  means  follow  that  training  along  lines  of  practical  work  will  con- 
fine the  future  activities  of  the  boy  to  manual  labor  or  to  the  necessity  of  doing 
things  for  himself.  He  may  use  his  abilities  in  as  many  other  directions  as  he 
can,  but  we  believe  that  learning  to  do  the  actual  work  of  daily  life  in  the  country 
gives  him  a  kind  of  ability  that  may  be  applied  to  any  form  of  work,  mental  or 
manual,  with  the  best  effect,  and  also  that  any  one  possessing  it  may  at  any 
time  get  back  to  first  principles  and  start  afresh.     It  has  always  seemed  to  us  that 

204 


THE  CRAFTSMAN  IDEA 

the  great  disintegrating  force  in  our  modern  way  of  living  lies  in  the  system  by 
whichyeverything  is  done  by  rote, — and  largely  by  machinery, — and  where  labor 
of  all  kinds  is  so  specially  divided  that  a  man,  whether  he  be  workman  or  director, 
has  very  little  chance  to  cope  with  problems  outside  of  his  own  particular  line 
of  work.  The  great  purpose  in  life  and  work  is  the  development  of  character  and 
it  naturally  follows  that  true  development  can  come  only  by  the  training  and  use 
of  all  the  faculties  in  coping  with  all  the  problems  that  may  come  up  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  life. 

In  addition  to  the  instruction  given  at  "Craftsman  Farms,"  the  conditions 
of  life  there  will  be  such  as  to  carry  out  the  same  idea.  The  students,  whether 
young  or  old,  will  be  housed  in  small  hamlets  scattered  about  the  neighborhood 
in  places  chosen  on  account  of  their  fitness  for  the  several  things  to  be  done. 
Each  group  of  cottages  will  be  under  the  care  of  a  house  mother  and  an  instructor 
and  the  student  will  go  from  hamlet  to  hamlet  until,  at  the  end  of  the  course, 
he  is  not  only  master  of  the  trade  he  has  chosen  to  learn  but  also  has  a  general 
knowledge  of  related  trades  and  of  farming.  For  example,  most  of  the  cottages 
in  which  the  students  live  will  be  designed  and  built  with  their  active  assistance, 
as  the  students  will  be  invited  to  use  their  own  brains  and  creative  ability  in 
designing  houses  and  cottages  that  they  would  like  to  live  in  or  that  seem  suited 
to  the  place.  In  doing  this,  of  course,  they  will  work  directly  with  the  corps  of 
architects  that  has  in  charge  the  designing  of  the  cottages,  and  in  the  actual  build- 
ing the  students  will  be  allowed  to  work  side  by  side  with  experienced  carpenters, 
stone  masons,  wood  finishers,  cabinetmakers,  blacksmiths  and  coppersmiths, 
so  that  every  lesson  will  be  the  doing  of  actual  work  in  the  way  it  is  done  by  com- 
petent workmen. 

Aside  from  the  educational  feature  of  this  enterprise,  one  of  the  main  objects 
in  carrying  it  out  along  the  lines  indicated  is  to  put  to  a  practical  test  our  favorite 
theory  of  a  farming  community  grouped  around  a  central  settlement  where  all 
social  interchange  and  recreation  are  as  full  and  convenient  as  they  would  be  in 
the  city  and  where  every  house  is  within  easy  reach  of  the  farm  lands  that  belong 
to  it. 

If  the  experiment  should  prove  a  success,  we  confidently  look  to  see  it  put  into 
practice  by  many  other  people;  and  if  it  should  not,  at  least  we  shall  have  dis- 
covered its  weak  points  and  have  learned  something  by  experience.  In  any 
case,  the  school  is  meant  to  complete  the  work  begun  by  the  magazine  and  to  give 
to  the  world  the  result  of  all  the  experience  we  have  gained  since  the  first  incep- 
tion of  the  Craftsman  idea  ten  years  ago.  If  it  should  have  ever  so  little  in- 
fluence in  bringing  about  the  development  of  our  national  life  along  the  lines 
laid  down  by  the  men  who  founded  the  Republic,  it  will  have  fulfilled  its  mission, 
because  a  truth  which  one  man  finds  courage  to  utter  today  is  echoed  and  applied 
by  thousands  tomorrow. 


205 


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